After Happy Ever After
by Ty3
Summary: Starts up where the miniseries left off. Wolf and Virginia embark on a new adventure and a couple new characters come along for the ride. Hopefully an entertaining romp through the kingdoms.
1. Chapter 1

**After Happy Ever After **

_A/N: So what happened to Wolf and Virginia after the movie left off? Here's what I (since I have way too much time on my hands) have come up with. Rating PG-13, I think. All characters, etc. belong to Hallmark Entertainment and NBC's production the 10th Kingdom except for any new characters, I guess. Danielle and Ivy own themselves since they are real people. No copyright infringements intended._

"Wolf? Wolf, where are you? I told you not to go off without me. This is a dangerous city." Virginia called as she searched for Wolf.

Virginia had to laugh at herself. Wolf had protected her from the deadly Huntsmen and more and she was warning him against wandering off alone like he was a little boy. Although, he could act like it sometimes. Manhattan was a whole new experience for him, just like the 9 Kingdoms had been for her. Still, she was worried about him.

"Wolf!" Virginia called again.

She stopped in the middle of the small clearing with her hands on her hips. He was here, she could sense it. Something about being around Wolf had heightened her own senses. She knew he was here and he was having fun with her.

"Would you stop playing around." she said, letting an annoyed edge seep into her voice, but a small smile crept on her face anyway.

Wolf jumped out from behind a tree and grabbed Virginia from behind. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close.

"If I didn't know better, I could think you were almost a wolf yourself." he said.

"No. It's just you rubbing off on me." Virginia replied, "You make me see things differently. I never knew so many things went on that I never really even paid attention to."

Wolf didn't reply, but he smiled happily. He gave Virginia a quick squeeze, then released her.

"I'm hungry. Can we go eat?" he asked anxiously.

Virginia almost laughed.

"You're always hungry." she replied.

"So? Let's go eat." Wolf paused and thought, "Somewhere with steak. Yes, huff, a nice juicy steak would be perfect."

"Alright." Virginia relented quickly before he could go into any more detail about steak.

She and Wolf walked hand in hand across Central Park. It was only two days since they had come back from the 4th Kingdom, but it seemed like longer. Virginia knew that they would have to work something out soon. Wolf had no problem sleeping in Central Park, but Virginia knew this wasn't really safe. They would need to find a place to stay. She would need to try and get a job. Maybe Wolf, too, although what kind of job he would have escaped her. She pushed all this out of her mind for the time being. She concentrated instead on where they should go to eat. She automatically thought of the Grill on the Park, the restaurant where she used to waitress on the edge of Central Park. Maybe she could get her old job back. It hadn't been the best job, but it had paid okay. She dismissed the idea. There had been some bad happenings there. There was no way they would hire her. There were other restaurants. Wolf wouldn't care.

They left the Park and walked down the sidewalk along the street. Cars and taxis passed, spraying filthy smelling fumes in the air. Virginia wrinkled her nose at the smell. The air in the Kingdoms had been so clean. She wondered how Wolf could stand the exhaust with his sensitive senses. She looked over at him with this thought. He had turned his face away from the street and every once in a while he would paw at his nose with his hand. The smells were getting to him.

Virginia spotted a restaurant that she had gone to before with her father. She steered Wolf towards it and they went inside. Little bells tied to the door tinkled as they stepped inside. The restaurant was small and nearly empty. Good. Virginia and Wolf sat down at a table and waited for the waiter to come with menus. The smells in the restaurant were quite different than the ones outside. The food smelled great. Wolf was practically drooling. He almost jumped and snatched the menu from the waiter's hands. Virginia kicked him under the table.

"Ow! What?" he asked, wondering what he had done.

Virginia ignored him and took her menu from the waiter who was still somewhat astounded at Wolf's behavior.

Virginia scanned her menu. Wolf would want a steak, rare. She liked her meat cooked and she didn't trust Wolf to order.

"Two steak specials. One rare, one well done." she said quickly.

"And warm milk." Wolf added quickly with a sheepish grin.

Virginia glanced at him strangely.

"A water and a warm milk." she added.

The waiter quickly wrote down their orders and left.

"Warm milk?" Virginia asked.

Wolf shrugged, "Just always had a taste for it. Reminds me of my mum."

Virginia shook her head. There was a lot about Wolf she didn't know about. Matter of fact, she still didn't know why he had been in Snow White Memorial Prison, where the Evil Queen, her mom, had found him. Virginia tried not to think about her mother and concentrated on the other part of her question.

"Wolf, why were you in prison?"

Wolf started.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"You never told me. What did you do?" Virginia asked.

Wolf looked down at his hands and shifted uneasily.

"You can tell me." Virginia said.

Wolf looked up at her. He could tell her, yes, but would she think less of him? He didn't like letting the more animal parts of him show to Virginia. He was still ashamed of that part of him. But he couldn't bring himself to keep anything from her.

"I ate one of the Peep's flocks." he admitted quietly.

Virginia was silent for one stunned moment. Wolf looked at her nervously.

"You ate a whole flock of sheep? How could you eat a whole flock of sheep!" she demanded.

"I couldn't help it! It was sheep! You know how I am about sheep. And it was a full moon." Wolf protested.

Yes, Virginia did know how he was about sheep. Sheep was his number one temptation. And in an incredibly close second were shepherdesses. Virginia didn't want to go there either.

"Yeah." she said, finally, "I know."

"You don't…" Wolf cut off as the waiter returned with their drinks.

"Just a little longer with the rest." he said and left again.

"Of course not." Virginia said as soon as he was out of hearing, "I love you, Wolf."

Wolf couldn't help but sigh with relief. He smiled slowly and almost shuddered with happiness. He couldn't believe he had ended up with a girl like Virginia. When she said she loved him…his heart just soared. Virginia was his life-mate. The love of his life. His soon to be wife. The mother of his child.

"How are you feeling, anyway?" Wolf asked, glancing down towards her stomach.

Virginia looked down too. She still almost couldn't believe that she was going to have a baby. This brought up some questions, too.

"Fine." Virginia said, "Wolf, you said that it'll be just like you. Will he be a wolf, too? What will we do…."

Wolf took her hand.

"Yes. But he'll be only a quarter wolf. Don't worry about that now." Wolf said, his gaze snapping toward the waiter who was returning to their table with a large tray of steaming food.

Wolf was starving and would have ripped into the steak, but he remembered Virginia and for all that they were in love and engaged, he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of her. It was hard sometimes. He carefully picked up his fork and knife.

"What do you want to do later?" Virginia asked.

Wolf thought. Almost all yesterday Virginia had taken him sightseeing all around the city. And there were still so many places he had yet to see. And he also would like to go back to the bookstore. The books fascinated him and there were still so many he had yet to read. All in all, he really didn't care as long as he got to do it with Virginia. Every moment with her was wonderful.

"You decide." he said finally.

"You want to see a movie?" Virginia asked.

Wolf was curious enough to pause in his eating.

"What's a movie?" he asked around a mouthful of steak.

Virginia had forgotten that Wolf had never seen a movie. She tried to think of a way to explain it to him.

"A movie is like a book that's acted out and then played on a big, flat screen for people to watch." Virginia said slowly.

Wolf turned that over in his mind. It sounded interesting.

"Okay." he agreed with an enthusiastic nod. He looked down at his plate to discover that he had eaten all his steak. There was some steamed vegetables and rice on the plate, too, but he wasn't that interested in it, "You want this other stuff? Do you think I could get some more steak?"

Virginia smiled and hailed the waiter.

Wolf was surprised at the darkness of the movie theatre. There were lights, more than enough for him to see by, but he didn't understand why it was dim in here. How would they be able to see all of the play? He dismissed his doubts and took a seat next to Virginia. She had bought two sodas for them. He still wasn't clear on what a soda was. She had said it was a flavored drink. He had had some trouble with the straw concept so she had taken the lid off. He sipped some of the odd colored drink. Wolf's eyes widened in surprise. It was a little too sugary for his taste and it made his mouth feel funny. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He set it back in the holder and looked around. He could hear better than see the other people there. They were speaking quietly, he didn't know why.

Suddenly there was an explosion of sound and light from the large black area in front of them. Wolf nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise. Virginia yanked him back down.

"Shhh. It's just the previews. The move will start in a little while." she whispered.

Wolf barely heard her. He was too busy staring at the pictures. They were larger than regular people, almost like giants, but not really. It was more like a bigger image of a regular size person. He was sure that was it. The sounds came from all around and it took him a moment to pinpoint it to strange black boxes that were set in the walls. He calmed down a little and watched the "previews". It showed some men, soldiers said some voice from the boxes, in a war against something called the "Nazis". There was another explosion, but this time an actual one on the screen. Wolf jumped and yelped. Virginia pulled him down again. The people around shushed him angrily.

"Wolf, it's okay. It's not real. It's just a picture. You have to stay quiet so everyone can hear." Virginia whispered to him.

How could they not hear? The noise was almost deafening. But Wolf nodded and sank down in the chair, clasping the arms tightly. He cringed at every explosion of sound until the pictures switched to a different story. Virginia touched his arm and he looked at her. She smiled encouragingly at him, then laid her head on his shoulder. Wolf forced himself to relax. He hoped the movie wouldn't be one about a war.

Later, as they exited the movie, Wolf couldn't stop talking about it.

"It's like magic." he said, still awed, "Are those actual people in that box?"

"No, just images." Virginia said, for about the fifth time.

"Huff-puff." Wolf said, shaking his head, "But they shouldn't have previews. Those are enough to run a person out of there."

Wolf really had been amazed by the movie once he had calmed down enough to watch it. It hadn't even been that good. Luckily the movie theatre hadn't been very full. The few people near them had been mad enough at Wolf's constant talking and exclamations. He had complained a little about the volume. It was loud in the movies, but you could get used to it pretty quick. At least, Virginia did and it had seemed Wolf had eventually.

Virginia yawned. It was getting late. But she really didn't want to sleep in the Park again.

"Wolf, we need to find an apartment or something." she said.

Wolf's attention was snapped back from the movie. He looked at Virginia.

"Now?" he asked.

"I doubt we'll find anything this late. But I still have some money, from what Wendell gave us. We can rent a hotel room." Virginia said.

It had been hard enough getting the golden Wendells changed into dollars, but it had paid off, literally.

"Okay." Wolf agreed readily.

He didn't much care where they spent the night. He had too much on his mind anyway to worry about that. What Virginia didn't know was that Wolf had left Prince Wendell plans for their wedding in the 4th Kingdom. Wolf was sure that Virginia would want it there with the prince and her father. He had set a date for a little more than a week from now. And he needed to tell Virginia. He just really hadn't gotten around to it. He would tell her later when they were in private.

Wolf followed Virginia down the street again. It was night, but all the lights made it almost as bright as day. He couldn't help but gaze around at everything they passed. The first time Wolf had been here he hadn't really paid attention to anything that hadn't concerned his mission of finding Prince Wendell in the dog form he had been trapped in. Now, he realized what he had missed. Wolf was amazed by the city, but he still kind of preferred the fresh clean air, tall green trees, and wonderful scenery of the Kingdoms. This city was dead, yet tremendously alive at the same time. And still, the strangest thing here was the people themselves. They were so cold. They walked by oblivious to everyone else, in their own little bubbles. Wolf could sense the predatory nature of this place, but it was different than the kind he knew. No wonder Virginia had been so distant at first. Everyone here was. Wolf physically shook off the feeling he was getting from these thoughts and bounded a few steps to catch up to Virginia.

"Virginia. I have something to tell you." Wolf said, sitting down next to her on the hotel bed.

"What, Wolf?"

Wolf shifted so he was facing her and took her hands in his. He opened his mouth to tell her and….

"The wedding date has been set. But you're not ready yet." sang a small voice.

Wolf jumped. The singing ring had ruined his whole approach.

"You are starting to annoy me." he growled at it.

"W…what did it say?" Virginia asked.

"I wanted the most perfect wedding for us and I wanted to surprise you, but I knew you would have to get ready for it. So I told Wendell to start planning before we left. We set the date for three weeks later. It's been a week and two days already since we said that." Wolf admitted.

"I wish you had said something to _me_!" Virginia nearly shouted, annoyed.

"Sorry." Wolf whimpered.

Virginia would have relented, but this was a very important matter. He should have asked her first! She crossed her arms angrily and turned away from him.

"Don't be angry, don't be mad. Your fiancée's oh, so sad. Give him another chance 'cause he really hasn't got a clue. He's just too busy loving you." the ring sang.

"I'm starting to like you again." Wolf muttered quietly to the ring.

Virginia looked at him, wondering what he said. Wolf straightened as if he hadn't said anything and nodded in emphatic agreement with the ring. Virginia tried to stay mad at him, but he really had just been trying to do something for her. It wasn't a huge deal, was it? She wondered if he knew how hard it was to argue with him when he had that puppy dog look on his face.

"Okay. I'm not mad at you. Well, I kind of am, but I forgive you." she said. She smiled a little mischievously and changed the subject, "They have a continental breakfast here. I think there's bacon."

Wolf's eyes widened and Virginia would have sworn that if he were an actual wolf his ears would have pricked.

"Bacon?" he asked, quivering with anticipation, "Huff-puff, I love bacon."

"I know. Wasn't there a song?" Virginia asked.

"I thought you didn't like the song." Wolf said, frowning.

"So? Sing it." Virginia said, scooting closer to him.

"Um…baste it, roast it, toast it, nibble it, chew it, bite right through it, wobble it, gobble it, wrap it around a couple of chickens and I am ravenous?" Wolf sang unsteadily. He brightened a little, "Do you think they'd serve the breakfast now?"

"We can wait." Virginia said.

"We can?" Wolf asked.

Virginia kissed him on the mouth.

"Okay, we can."

Wolf was still mostly asleep when the smell came to him and his nose quivered. He sniffed again to make sure, then sat up. He turned around. Virginia was still asleep. He was sure she would want to wake up and have some breakfast so he shook her.

"What?" she grumbled groggily.

"Virginia. Bacon, remember? Come on." Wolf said giving her another shake.

Virginia rolled over and rubbed her eyes. She reached out and felt on the nightstand for her watch. She held it in front of her face and pressed a button that made it light.

"It's five o'clock in the morning!" she exclaimed.

"But I can smell it. Come on. Aren't you hungry?" Wolf asked.

"Not yet, I'm not. I'll be hungry when the sun's up." Virginia said and pulled a pillow over her head.

Wolf shrugged helplessly. How she could go on sleeping, he didn't know. He would come back and wake her up later. Right now there was bacon to see to!

Wolf realized that people were staring at him. He didn't know why. He was just enjoying some delicious bacon. Maybe it was time to go back and wake up Virginia. The sun had to be up by now, hadn't it?

"I'll be back." Wolf promised and bounded for the stairs and back up to their room.

Wolf looked out the window and was frustrated to see that the sun still wasn't up. He decided to explore the room while he waited. On top of the dresser was a large black box. There were squares on the front near the bottom that protruded from the box. He sniffed it curiously, but all he smelled was dirt and a little static, plus the faint smell of people here before that had touched it. He pushed one of the squares, the largest one. There was a little bit of a flash on the front side and a picture appeared. Sound came from the box just like the movie theatre only smaller. Wolf was fascinated again. And luckily, the sound was low. He liked this much better than he had the dark room and the loud noise of the theatre. He wished Virginia had let him watch this instead or at least, to prepare him.

Wolf sat down on the foot of the bed and watched the box. There were short clips on right now that reminded him of the previews. They told of stores with low, low prices and shoes, and drinks with weird names. Then a voice said, "Welcome back to Monster Movie Marathon." The box showed a picture of a mutated wolf-man howling at the moon. Wolf angrily jumped up and jabbed at the buttons on the box. The pictures switched to a different setting. At the bottom of the picture it said the Disney Channel. The pictures were very colorful and the people looked funny, not real. But Wolf recognized the story. It was Cinderella!

"No, no. That's not right. That's not at all the way it happened." Wolf said to the box, but it ignored him.

Wolf remembered that they were just images and couldn't respond, but he couldn't help, but try to correct them. They had it all wrong.

Virginia stirred behind him and Wolf turned. He realized that the sun was up now and that he had been watching the box for a good amount of time.

"Rise and shine!" Wolf said cheerfully.

Virginia rubbed her eyes and sat up. She smiled sleepily.

"What time is it now?" she asked.

Wolf shrugged, "Don't know. But huff, the sun's up! Bacon calls!"

Virginia laughed.

"Okay. But just out of curiosity, how many helpings have you had so far?" she asked.

"Um…five or six. Maybe." Wolf admitted.

He shrugged it off and jumped to his feet. He took Virginia's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on. Get dressed. The day's already started!" Wolf said.

Virginia yawned and got dressed and let herself be dragged downstairs after Wolf. He had another six helpings when she was present.

"Where _are_ we going?" Virginia demanded.

Wolf was leading her down the street through the smaller, but gradually increasing crowds.

"I thought we could start the day with a trip to the place with all those books." Wolf said.

He paused. He really wanted to get some more books, but he just remembered that the last time he hadn't exactly paid for the ones he had gotten.

"But perhaps you know of a different book place?" Wolf suggested.

"Why? What did you do?" Virginia asked, suspiciously.

"I sort of forgot to pay for the books I got last time?" Wolf admitted, "But that was before I was changed. Nothing to dwell on."

Virginia didn't comment. Instead she turned Wolf in a different direction.

"There's a Barnes and Nobles this way." she said simply.

Wolf nodded, glad he wasn't in trouble again, but definitely not stupid enough to push it.

Wolf had already stacked some self-help books in his arms. Virginia reminded him to take it easy, they weren't rich even if they did have a good sum of money from Wendell. She left him to himself and looked at a different section. She smiled to herself and chose a book called _Wolves: All There Is To Know_. She tucked the book under her arm and went to get Wolf before he could find any others books he had to have.

"But…but…" Wolf protested as she dragged him away from the shelves and towards the counter.

"Save some for next time." Virginia replied, thinking to herself that she sounded like a mother talking to her child in a toy store.

Wolf dropped his head and followed her.

"Oh, alright." he said in a none too happy voice, "But, huff-puff, I don't see how anyone could ever run out of books to read in here."

They paid for their books and left the store, Virginia quicker than Wolf.

"What else have you got planned for today?" Virginia asked, knowing he would have something.

"Well, I didn't know whether you wanted to get a wedding dress here or in the Kingdoms, so I left that open to you." Wolf said, "And I figured that if you didn't want to buy it now we could read."

"You are a bookworm." Virginia said.

Wolf looked confused.

"I mean you are really into books." she amended.

"Oh." Wolf said.

"Actually, I think I'd like to hold off for today on wedding dresses. Let's go back to Central Park and we can read." Virginia said.

"Great!" Wolf said, taking her hand and dragging her along the sidewalk, "I've got a great book on interracial relationships…"

Virginia smiled.

Virginia sat with her back propped up against a tree and the book open against her knees. Wolf was a few feet away, lying on his back in the grass with the book held open above him. He rolled over and looked at her.

"Virginia, the book says that it is very important for us to share everything about each other and our different cultures." he said slowly, as if to make sure he said everything right.

"I'm reading a little about yours right now." Virginia said, showing him the book.

Wolf stiffened a little. He didn't really want her to get to know that part of him. He wanted her to know the human part of him. But she seemed okay with both. He forced himself to relax.

"And I'm learning about yours just being here. Which reminds me. What was that box in our hotel room that made pictures like the movie theatre?" Wolf asked.

"Box? Oh, the TV? Yeah, it's like the movie only smaller." Virginia said.

"Well. Let's see." Wolf scooted over next to Virginia, "Tell me about yourself."

Virginia smiled, "You probably know almost all there is to know already."

Wolf shook his head.

"That's not true. What's your favorite thing to eat? What's your favorite color?" he raised his eyebrows playfully, "What's your favorite animal?"

Virginia decided to go along with it.

"Well, I used to really like cats." Wolf made a face. Virginia continued, "But lately, for some reason, I've found myself drawn to wolves."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Wolf replied. He turned serious quickly, "I mean it. I want to know everything there is to know about you."

Virginia paused.

"Only if the same applies to you." she replied.

Wolf frowned.

"Ooooh, alright." he said finally, "But you first."

Virginia took a deep breath. This would take a while.

Virginia took another deep, shaky breath. She had no idea how long she had talked. Her throat and her eyes hurt. She had cried a little. The area of her mother was still too hard to talk about.

Wolf nuzzled her, kind of like a puppy upset because its master is. He looked at her imploringly.

"I'm okay." she said, almost as much to herself as Wolf, "I'm okay."

Wolf pushed her hair off her forehead.

"Not yet. But you will be." he said.

Virginia just stared at him.

"Well, you listen and I'll talk now. Dad was a wolf, mom was human. They had me, half-wolf. Mom didn't have much of an imagination. Named me Wolf. Mom lived with us for a while, lived like a wolf. And every full moon, dad would disappear and mom would take me out to watch. A little while later, mom had another litter, a girl and a boy. She and dad took pretty good care of us, but when I was eleven, my brother and sister even younger, dad was burned for killing someone. That's when mom left. They said she jumped on the pyre with father." Wolf drew into himself and became almost unaware he was still talking out loud, "I ran. I left my little siblings and kept running until my legs wouldn't move anymore. I slept for two days, then woke and ran again. I ran all the way to the 3rd Kingdom. I remember those first few nights, lost in the old beanstalks. I could hear the giants at the top and sometimes the trolls out hunting with their dogs. I would curl up under one of the low bean pods and wait for them to pass. I spent a long time running across the Kingdoms and I learned quickly how to fend for myself. About a year later, I made it back to our place in the woods, but no one was there. I spent a long time looking for my brother and sister. I finally found my brother, but what had happened to mom and dad and who knows what else had made him obsessed with revenge and he got himself killed trying to get it. He was only twelve. The only word I got of my sister was what he told me. He said she had gotten in trouble for killing some chickens or something and had become a sort of hermit. She had secluded herself, apparently hoping to keep the wolf locked up with her."

Wolf shook himself and smiled unsteadily at Virginia. Her eyes were still a little bleary, but she looked sympathetic. Wolf discovered he was holding her hand.

"It really wasn't that bad. Huff-puff, I saw all there was to see over that year and the next few. But by then the full moon was getting to me. I don't remember much of anything that happened those nights except for hunting things. When I was about sixteen, I lost it. I just forgot being human and stayed wolf even when I still looked human. I spent a long time like that. I'm not sure all of what I did, but huff, I did a lot of bad things. When I was eighteen, I finally got caught. They beat me up pretty good, but I got away. I ran into the deep forest and got lost. Quite a feat for a wolf, but I was bleeding and dehydrated and close to fainting. I finally couldn't go any farther and collapsed. Just before I fainted, I smelled someone coming. I saw their shadow and heard their footsteps, even though they were incredibly quiet. I never actually saw them before I blacked out." Wolf whimpered at the remembered pain, but continued, "I came to lying on a bed. I had no idea where I was. But that smell, the smell of whoever had found me, was all over the place. It smelled familiar, but I couldn't remember from where. When I first woke up, I couldn't remember much of anything. It took awhile for that to all come back.

'But the person who had found me came in only minutes later, as if she knew I was awake. She looked so familiar, but I didn't put it together until she said, "Hello, Wolf. Remember me?"

'It was my sister! She had found me and nursed me back to health. I was just getting better when the men from the village, the ones who had caught me, found her place. They set it on fire. We were confused by the smoke. I made it out, but my sister didn't. I was tired of running. I did some bad things there, but only as bad as they had!

'After it was all over and when I was ready to move on again, I found I didn't know what to do. My sister had taught me something. About being a good wolf. And I tried that for the longest time, but I finally snapped again, on a full moon, and ate that flock of sheep. I was a bad wolf again until they caught me and put me in Snow White Memorial Prison. And then I met you and became a good wolf again. And this time, it's permanent!" Wolf vowed.

Virginia stared at him.

"Wolf. I'm so sorry. I didn't know." she sputtered awkwardly.

She had cried and complained and done the self-pity thing, and here was Wolf, his whole family murdered. What a brat she was!

Wolf pretended to remove a rock from the area he was sitting on, but Virginia could hear him sniff. He turned back towards her and forced a smile.

"History. Nothing to be done about it now. But there are other things to talk about. Like cars. And those flying things we saw that one time. And TV. You live in a strange world, Virginia." Wolf said.

"So do you." Virginia replied, going with his change of the subject.

For the rest of the day they pointedly ignored the subject of their pasts as they looked at apartments.

Virginia had no idea why it hadn't occurred to her. And why on earth it had occurred to Wolf, she didn't know.

Her old apartment! They still had at least a month left to them in return for her father working there. She had forgotten somehow.

So she and Wolf were back at the apartment building, looking for Mr. Murray. And they found him, or rather he found them.

"Miss Lewis! You've returned! May I inquire at whether the Master has returned as well?" Mr. Murray asked humbly and actually bowed to her.

Virginia nearly fell over backwards. She did stumble and Wolf caught her and pushed her back to her feet.

Wait! Virginia thought to herself about something that her father had told her concerning a magic dragon dung and six wishes. Apparently, the wish was still in affect. Good.

"Actually, he is still on a…business trip. He may be away for a good time. But my fiancée and I have returned and would like to have our old apartment back." Virginia said, making things up quickly.

"Fiancée? Congratulations, Mr….?"

"Wolf." Wolf interjected quickly, shaking hands with Mr. Murray.

"Mr. Wolf. You're a very lucky man. Miss Lewis is quite a young lady."

"I know." Wolf agreed, looking at Virginia.

Virginia fidgeted under the attention.

"The apartment, please?" she said, changing the subject.

"Oh, right this way. I took the liberty of moving you out of that box where you were before and to a suite on the top floor. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." Virginia sputtered, amazed.

She couldn't believe this was the same Mr. Murray who had always cheated her father, treated him like dirt, and had been an all around jerk. Magic was pretty amazing.

"Good. Good." Mr. Murray muttered as they entered the elevator.

He punched the button for the tope floor and the elevator creaked as it started up.

Wolf swayed and grabbed the side. He looked sick. Virginia took his arm and helped him to stay up.

"Sorry. Forgot." she whispered.

Wolf just nodded. He looked forever grateful when the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

Mr. Murray hurried ahead and pulled open the double doors to the best suite in the entire building. Virginia bit her tongue in surprise. He must have kicked out his wealthiest tenant! Magic, indeed.

"I trust you will find everything in order." he said, holding out an arm and motioning them inside.

"Y…yes. Thank you." Virginia recovered from her surprise and turned to Mr. Murray, "That will be all for now, Mr. Murray. Thank you."

Mr. Murray bowed again and left Virginia and Wolf alone in their new apartment.

"Wow." Virginia said, shaking her head.

She looked around for Wolf and saw he was already exploring the place.

"Huff-puff, I like this place, Virginia. Much better than your old place downstairs." he said, turning to her.

"Me, too." she said.

She hugged him and he looked at her in surprise.

"What was that for?" he asked, then quickly added, "Not that I mind."

"No reason. I just can't believe how well things have worked out." she said, smiling.

"Me neither. But I'm sure glad they did." Wolf agreed.

Wolf and Virginia remained for a moment in each other's arms before Wolf gently disentangled himself.

"You think there's anything to eat in here?" he asked.

Virginia laughed and followed him to the kitchen.

"If not, we'd better go out and buy some bacon, hmmm?" she said teasingly.

Wolf didn't notice her tone, but nodded emphatically as he searched the fridge. He pulled out a large ham that had a note attached to it. He looked at it quickly as he set the ham down on the table.

"Courtesy of Mr. Murray." he said with a smile, "Sit down and relax, my dear, sweet Virginia. I'm going to make you the best dinner ever!"

Virginia smiled and took a seat at the table. Her mind came up with some terrifying thoughts about Wolf's cooking, but she ignored them.

"I can't wait." she said.


	2. Chapter 2

-1One week later, Virginia and Wolf were both a little frantic about the wedding. She had picked out a dress already and made sure that Wolf had gotten a tux. They had made arrangements with Mr. Murray that they would be gone for a few weeks or more. Now they were headed to Central Park.

"How do you know the mirror will be open?" Virginia asked.

"Because I asked Wendell to open the mirror at a certain time once every week in case we wanted or needed to come back." Wolf reminded her easily.

"Oh." Virginia said, feeling a little dumb.

She followed Wolf closely, the bag with her wedding dress held protectively close. A sudden thought occurred to her.

"I'm not going to have any bridesmaids!" Virginia exclaimed.

"What?" Wolf asked.

"I'm not even going to have a Maid of Honor." she said.

Wolf hurried over seeing how distraught she looked.

"Don't be silly. Of course you'll have bridesmaids." he said.

"Name one girl on all the nine kingdoms who can be my bridesmaid." she challenged.

Wolf opened his mouth to reply when he realized he didn't have an answer. He closed his mouth and thought.

"See!" Virginia cried, pushing past him.

"Now what a minute. How about….that nice lady at the Kissing Town casino?" he said uncertainly.

"I never met her! That was you! What exactly were you and the lady at the casino…." Virginia began, her eyes blazing.

"Hey! I didn't do anything! She was the lady at the Jackrabbit Jackpot wheel. I just talked to her!" Wolf said, holding up his hands and in the process, dropping the bags he was carrying. He quickly stooped and picked them up again, "You're in quite a mood today."

"I am not!" Virginia said angrily, then realized how much that was not helping her case, "Okay, maybe I am. I can't help it. I'm just so nervous."

"It's okay, sweetheart. I don't blame you. Just relax. Everything will be perfect." Wolf promised.

Virginia sighed.

"Okay. You're right. I'm not going to worry about this. Who cares about the bridesmaids? I mean, what do they do anyway? Hold the flowers. I can do that." Virginia said, talking more to herself than Wolf.

Wolf led her farther into the Park until they reached the spot where the mirror opened. Wolf set down his bags and waited.

"You sure you have the right time?" Virginia asked.

"Positive. Just wait." Wolf said, staring at the spot.

A minute later, the hazy picture of the room in the palace appeared. The mirror had been turned on. Wolf took up his bags and shifted them so he could take Virginia's hand. Together they stepped into the mirror.

And emerged on the other side in the palace. The servant that had turned it on jumped when he saw them, then bowed.

"I will inform King Wendell of your arrival." he said and left.

Wolf nodded. He sniffed deeply. He loved Virginia's world, the 10th Kingdom, but he had missed being in a place where _he_ could show _her_ around. He was glad to be back. He looked over at Virginia and saw she was too. Virginia had needed the stability and familiarity of her home, but she too loved the kingdoms.

It wasn't long before Wendell and Tony arrived. Tony gave Virginia a giant hug, then gave Wolf one, too. He was followed by Wendell.

"It's so good to see you again, Virginia." Tony said, smiling, "How's everything in New York?"

"Better than you would believe. Mr. Murray gave us the master suite! He's still under that little spell of yours." Virginia replied.

"Good thing me and my behind are safely planted here then. Oh, and Wolf. I sure hope you don't plan on pulling any more surprises like that last one on me. Grandpa! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Tony said.

"Actually…" Wolf began with a sheepish grin.

"We came back because we're going to get married here." Virginia finished for him.

"Ah yes. Everything is in order, Wolf. Just like you asked." Wendell said.

"You knew?" Tony asked, incredulous.

"Of course. Wolf asked me to be his best man. I was more than happy to oblige." Wendell said.

"Why am I always last to know?" Tony demanded angrily.

"Oh, shut up, dad. Wendell knew before I did!" Virginia said, "Besides. You have to give me away."

"And when exactly are you planning on being married?" Tony asked finally.

"Actually, in three days." Wolf said.

Tony's jaw dropped and he gaped at his daughter and her fiancée's behavior. Wolf and Virginia ignored him and began walking past. Wolf slapped him on the back with a mischievous grin.

"Thanks, dad." he said.

Wolf paced on the balcony. It was late. He should sleep. He had a tremendous day tomorrow. He was going to marry the girl of his dreams! But he couldn't help it. The moon was too close to full. He hadn't realized that the day he had picked for his marriage was this close to the full moon. What an idiot he was! The first three days of his honeymoon, there would be a full moon. Virginia wouldn't be too happy. And more than anything he wanted it to all be perfect for her.

Wolf's tail was aching inside his pant leg. He looked back at Virginia's sleeping form inside their chambers, then pulled it out. That distraction gone, he began pacing again.

He wished there was some way around the whole full moon thing.

Wolf froze. Maybe there was. Magic could do anything, couldn't it? There had to be a way to stop all the craziness brought on by the full moon. But how could he possibly track down a solution before tomorrow afternoon? He didn't even know where to start.

But he had to try. For Virginia.

Wolf slinked back into the main chamber and past Virginia. He slipped out the door and into the hallway. He was out the door and into the night before even the guards noticed.

Virginia woke when the sun reached through the open curtains to her. The rays of warmth tickled her face and she stretched. Then started when she didn't feel Wolf next to her. She immediately sat up and looked around, thinking that maybe he was already awake. But Wolf wasn't anywhere in the chamber.

Virginia got up and quickly dressed. She searched the room on more time, but still no sign of Wolf. She slipped out of the room. Maybe he had already gone down to breakfast. That's what she told herself. But something inside her knew that he wasn't in the castle.

Virginia was so busy with her own troubles that she ran right into her father. He steadied her and looked at her with amusement.

"Pre-wedding jitters?" he asked.

Virginia shook her head.

"Wolf's gone." she said.

"What?" Tony asked, his smiled turning to a frown, "Are you sure?"

Virginia nodded.

"Where did he go?" Tony asked.

"I don't know." she said, shaking her head.

Virginia looked close to tears. Tony gave her a hug.

"Don't worry. He'll be back. If I know that Wolf, he's too in love with you to miss this. Probably forgot the flowers or something." he said, trying to reassure her.

Virginia nodded and sniffed, wiping her eyes. She didn't really buy it, but she pretended to.

"Yeah." she agreed, "I hope so."

Wolf didn't know exactly what he was looking for. He just followed his nose and his instincts and tried to hurry as much as he could. The sun was already up, he didn't have much time.

Wolf paused, panting. He knew that he had covered a lot of ground. But he still hadn't found what he needed. But he was close. He knew he was close.

Wolf sniffed the air, searching for that strange scent. That smell of magic.

He started running again. He didn't have much time left.

Virginia tried not to act strange. But she heard whispers behind her back and she knew what they were saying. They were calling her a fool for ever loving a hybrid. Saying he was finally showing his true colors. That he had run out on her.

But she ignored them. She knew in her heart that it wasn't true. Wolf loved her. She knew it. But she didn't know where he was or what was so important that he had to leave now of all times and that scared her.

Wendell came up behind her and placed a hand on her arm. He smiled reassuringly at her. Virginia nodded appreciatively. But Wolf only had a few hours left. And if he didn't show up for their wedding….she didn't know how she would be able to take that.

Wolf slowed. He had found the source of the smell that he had been following for hours. It had led him to a cottage in the middle of the woods. But something about the cottage gave Wolf a bad feeling. He ignored it and stepped up to knock on the door.

Before he could knock, the door opened on its own. Wolf jumped backward in surprise and slowly walked in, on his guard immediately. He looked around, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness.

Inside the cottage was an old woman. She huddled over something on a table and didn't even look up when Wolf entered.

"What do you have that could be worth such a spell?" she asked, still not looking at him.

Wolf jumped again.

"I…What do you want?" Wolf asked, not knowing what he could offer.

"You are a wolf. What is worth this spell? Or do you realize what it will mean?" she asked.

"What do you mean do I realize what it will mean? I want to stop being affected by the full moon. So my scrumptious Virginia won't have to worry about herself or me three days every month." Wolf said.

The woman said nothing, but finally looked up at Wolf. Her gaze sent a shiver up and down his spine.

"Bring me a golden rose from the bushes of Gretel. That is the fee for this spell." the old woman said.

"But the bushes of Gretel are…" Wolf began.

"That is the fee." the woman interrupted, "Choose now."

Wolf growled low in his throat at being forced to choose without being given a chance to think, but he agreed.

"Alright. A golden rose. But I need the spell now. And quickly." he said.

"Sit." the old woman said, motioning to a chair, "And close your eyes."

Wolf did as she said, not liking it one bit. He had never really trusted magic. And he didn't like not being able to see what was going on. But this spell meant a lot to him.

The old woman stopped in front of Wolf, a book open in one hand and a handful of dust in her other hand. She spoke words that made no sense to Wolf, then threw the dust on him. Wolf sneezed and his eyes flew open. Then he fell, unconscious to the floor.

"Now, my wolf. You will listen and heed my command. You will bring me the rose if you have to crawl out of your grave to do it. You are mine now, half-breed. And you will do my bidding. Now go." she said with a wave of her hand.

Wolf blinked and rose. He didn't know how he had gotten on the floor or why he was here in the first place. He knew that he had to get back to the castle, though. He had a wedding to be at! He looked up at the old woman in confusion.

"You had better hurry, Wolf. Your Virginia awaits. You are free of the full moon now." she said.

Now Wolf was even more confused. But her words were astounding. Free from the full moon? Did she mean…? Virginia! He did have to hurry. From the looks of it, he only had an hour or two to get back and there was no way he was going to be late for his own wedding!

Wolf jumped to his feet and bounded out the door, hurrying through the forest as fast as he could go.

The old woman watched him go. He would deliver the rose and more. But she would be patient. She had been patient this long. A little longer made no difference.

Virginia stood in her wedding dress in the back of the castle chapel. Everything was perfect, just like Wolf had promised. Except that Wolf wasn't there. Virginia felt like crying until she couldn't cry anymore.

Suddenly, a howl broke through the air. And Virginia knew it was Wolf. Her heart soared and her temper blazed at the same time. Wolf had a lot of explaining to do!

A few minutes later Wolf stumbled into the chapel, his tux thrown on, his shirt was only half-tucked, and his hair was in a disarray.

"Sorry." he said to everyone, "Sorry." he repeated to Virginia.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"Tell you later. I promise it was very important. I'm just not sure exactly why." he said.

"What?" she asked.

"We can start now!" Wolf called, ignoring Virginia's question.

"You had better explain all this." Virginia whispered to him before he left to take his place at the altar.

Tony linked arms with Virginia and whispered to her.

"See. Everything's fine. Just out of curiosity, where was the groom?" he asked.

"That's what I'd like to know." Virginia said.

The music began and all Virginia's questions left her mind. She was drawn into the moment and all she could think about was all her wonderful moments with Wolf and all the wonderful ones she knew would come. She looked up at the head of the aisle at Wolf. He had an anxious, but completely loving look on his face. She wondered if his thoughts were the same as hers.

Wolf hadn't noticed before just how beautiful Virginia looked. He couldn't believe he was going to marry such a dreamy, wonderful girl. He thought of his times with Virginia and how wonderful it had been. The time at Snow White's glass coffin. The time when Virginia had said she loved him. The time in the woods when they had played hide and go seek. Oh, how he loved her. He thought of the little cub growing inside her and how he was going to be a father.

Virginia reached his side and Wolf smiled at her. She smiled back and she seemed to have forgotten her anger from earlier. He took her hand and glanced at the priest as he began to speak.

"We are gathered here today…" the priest began.

Virginia tuned him out, too busy staring at Wolf. He stared back at her and smiled again. He squeezed her hand to draw her attention back to the priest.

"Do you, Wolf, take Virginia to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold until death do you part?" the priest asked.

"Oh, I do. I do. I do." Wolf agreed emphatically.

"And do you Virginia, take Wolf to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold until death do you part?" the priest asked.

"I do." Virginia agreed, smiling at Wolf.

"Then, place a ring upon each other's fingers and say, 'With this ring, I thee wed.'" the priest instructed.

Wolf lifted Virginia's hand and she just realized he had slipped off the singing ring. He placed it back on her finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." he repeated.

Virginia was glad he hadn't gotten another ring. The singing ring would be offended and she was perfectly happy with it. But now it was her turn.

"With this ring, I thee wed." she repeated and put a ring on Wolf's finger.

"I know pronounce you…" the priest paused uncertainly, then shrugged, "man and wife."

Wolf howled with joy then took Virginia in his arms and kissed her. He released her to wave at the people in the crowd. Virginia laughed and waved, too.

Wendell smiled. He didn't know how long he had before he had to tell them. He didn't know how he would be able to interrupt their honeymoon even for something as important as this. He hated this. But if he didn't get Virginia and Wolf's help, the 4th Kingdom could and probably would be destroyed.

Virginia let her head rest on Wolf's shoulder as they danced slowly. She whispered quietly to him.

"You'd better have a damn good reason for being late to your own wedding." she said.

Wolf jumped, then calmed.

"I do. I do. I've said that a lot today. Anyway, the reason I was late is because I was off arranging a little surprise for our honeymoon. I think you'll like it. I'm sorry for not telling you." Wolf whispered back.

"Okay." Virginia said, forgiving him quickly.

She didn't want to be mad at Wolf on their wedding day. With that thought, she smiled softly and rubbed her cheek against Wolf's shoulder.

"I love you, Wolf." she said.

"I love you, too, dear, sweet, succulent Virginia." Wolf replied.

Virginia was spent. It was getting late, she knew. It was the first day of their honeymoon and they had spent it mostly beneath the satin sheets of the bed in their room.

She must have dozed off a little because when she looked, Wolf was up and pacing in their room. She sat up and smiled at him.

"You're not tired?" she asked.

He looked at her and she could tell he was agitated about something.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

She looked out the window to see how late it was. And saw the moon. It was full.

"Is that it? I didn't realize it was a full moon. Wolf, are you okay?" Virginia asked.

"Yes. I'm fine. That's what's bugging me. It feels so weird not feeling weird on the full moon." Wolf said.

"What? What do you mean?" Virginia asked, confused.

Wolf ignored her question and bounded over to her. He took her hand and pulled her, trying to get her up.

"Come on. Let's go look at the moon." he said.

"Wolf, I don't think you should be going outside at all right now." Virginia began.

"No, you don't understand. This is the surprise. I'm free of the moon. I found this old woman who did a spell for me that makes me unaffected by it." Wolf told her.

"You did what?" Virginia cried.

"Huff-puff, you don't listen to well, Virginia. I went to…" Wolf began again.

"I heard you. I just don't believe you. I thought you said not to trust magic."

"I…did. But this is different." Wolf insisted.

"How? What did you give the old woman to get her to do the spell?"

Wolf growled a little, then admitted, "I didn't exactly give her anything yet. I have to get her a golden rose from one of Gretel's golden rose bushes. But I can do it! I think."

Virginia didn't like the sound of this.

"You'd better tell me about these golden roses." she said.

Wolf sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Gretel, you know Hansel's sister, became a queen after they defeated that witch. Well, actually a princess, but later she became a queen. Her brother was made a duke, but he only got some small lands with hardly any people on him and he was jealous. One day, Gretel was given some golden seeds, the ones that the bushes grew from, by a prince who wanted to marry her. Gretel agreed and they got married. But for her brother, Hansel, that was the final straw. Hansel hired a witch to conjure up a curse upon Gretel's bushes. The flowers became virtually unreachable. The curse drew all kinds of dark spirits to the flowers. The flowers, being magic, became their food and they built all kinds of defenses to keep others away from them. One day, Gretel came, needing a flower because these flowers were said to have great powers that could make you immortal and cure any disease. The prince, now king had become very sick and she needed a petal from one of the flowers to cure him or he would die. The dark spirits guarding the flowers were lured away and she snuck in while they were gone. But the spirits have poisoned the flowers so that one prick from their thorns would kill you. Gretel pricked her hand and was killed. When Hansel heard this he was so overwhelmed with what he had done, he killed himself. It was a great tragedy for that entire kingdom." Wolf finished.

"And you're going to get one of those flowers. Uh uh. No way am I going to let you." Virginia said.

"But Virginia, I have to. I gave my word and a wolf's word is everything. Except when it comes to Evil Queen's, then we can make exceptions, but most of the time…." Wolf began rambling.

"Wolf, no." Virginia interrupted.

"Virginia, I don't have a choice. I have to. Don't worry. I'll be fine." Wolf assured her, "Come on, now. Let's go look at the moon."

Virginia let herself be dragged out to watch the moon, but she still didn't like any bit of this. There was just something totally not right about it and she knew that they would find out what soon enough.

Three days later, the first night after the full moon, Wolf was again restless. And this time he didn't know why. Something just kept telling him he had to leave. That he had to begin, but what he wasn't sure. He finally couldn't take it anymore. He left Virginia a note and started running off through the village. He didn't even use his nose to tell him where to go. Something just kept drawing him on.

When Virginia awoke, she rolled over and reached out for Wolf. When he wasn't there, her eyes snapped open.

"Not again. Wolf, I'm going to kill you." Virginia muttered angrily.

She spotted the note lying on Wolf's pillow and snatched it up. It read:

_Virginia, don't worry about me. I had to leave. I'll be back as soon as I can. Do not try to follow._

_Wolf._

"If you don't get yourself killed first." Virginia gulped.

Wolf stopped, panting. He had come a long ways he knew. He was in the 5th Kingdom, which he had rarely been in before. He wasn't too sure where he was. And he knew that if he continued to wander around lost, he would just get into trouble, possibly of the deadly kind. He needed help.

Wolf sat down on the ground and leaned back against a tree while he thought. He needed a guide he could trust.

But first, he needed food and water and to rest for a little while. Not too long because the sooner he got back to Virginia, the better, but he couldn't keep going forever.

Wolf sniffed until he caught the smell of water. It wasn't too far. He got up and made his way down to a small brook. He bent and got a drink. This done, he ate the last of the cold meat he had brought with him and added to it some fruit from the nearby trees. With some food in his stomach, his mind worked a lot better.

Wolf snapped his fingers. He had it!

Wolf howled into the woods, calling for another wolf. He waited a moment, then howled again. This time he heard a howl in response. Excited that his idea had worked, Wolf howled back, trying to help the other wolf find him. The wolf yipped a few times in response, promising to be there quickly.

Wolf walked in the direction of the wolf's howl, shortening the distance between them.

A little bit later, the wolf appeared from out of the trees. It was a young female wolf, as Wolf had known it was since he had heard her howl. She had reddish hair with hints of other colors in it and dark eyes. She sniffed, testing his scent. She made sounds deep in her throat. She didn't completely trust him, but was giving him the benefit of a doubt.

Wolf made a short whining sound, telling her he needed help. He flashed his eyes briefly in that way he had. The female wolf straightened and extended her hand.

"Hello." she said.

"Hi." he replied, shaking her hand, "Thank you for coming."

She shrugged. She reminded him so much of his sister.

"My name's Wolf." he said.

She smiled a little.

"Yeah, huff, I know. Don't ask me what my mother was thinking." Wolf said, "It suits me, though."

"I'll bet. Well, I can't talk. My name's Cinnamon." she paused, "What's the problem?"

"I'm a little lost. I was wondering if you could help me. I need to find the golden rose bushes of Queen Gretel." he said.

Cinnamon stared at him, open-mouthed.

"You do know about them, right? It's crazy to go after them." she said.

Wolf nodded, "I know. But I have to. I owe it to someone. And a wolf…"

"Always keeps their word. So I've heard." Cinnamon interrupted, "I suppose it's as good a motto as any. But I still think you're crazy. What could be worth going after that rose bush?"

Wolf hesitated, but figured it didn't matter. He liked this Cinnamon. He sensed something about her that made him trust her and he trusted his instincts. A wolf could always trust his instincts. Well, except maybe during the full moon, of course.

"Love." he said shortly.

Cinnamon sensed something very strong coming from Wolf. He was a very complex wolf. Confusing. She shook her head to clear it. She had always depended on one person, herself, and had never been one to trust people easily. But for some reason, she had answered Wolf's call. She still wasn't sure why. She was even more confused about the feeling she got from him. She had always been rather perceptive, not easily fooled or lied to. She sensed an unnatural urgency from Wolf and something else. Something that was not right. She didn't know what it was, but she was sure it had something to do with why he wanted to find Gretel's rose bushes.

Cinnamon was just too mixed-up. She had never been this confused before, except maybe the first time she had felt the full moon. She mentally shrugged and decided to just go along with the strange feelings that had gotten her this far. She hoped she wasn't digging her own grave in the roses like some others had before.

Virginia hurried down the steps. She didn't care what Wolf had said, she was going after him. She just needed to find Wendell and get him to give her a horse so she could catch up. Of course she had only ridden once before in her entire life, so it would need to be a placid horse, but it was still faster then walking.

Virginia pushed through the doors into the dining hall, hoping that Wendell would be down for breakfast. She was in luck. He was at the table eating and talking with her father. They both look up when she entered.

Tony saw the look on her face and quickly stood.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Wolf's gone…" she began.

"Again?" Tony said in an almost whining voice, plopping back down in his chair.

"Dad." Virginia said, giving him a look that could have killed, "He left a note. He's going after the golden rose bushes of Gretel."

Wendell dropped his fork. It clattered loudly. He stared at Virginia with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"What! Why!"

"He went to an old woman and got her to do a spell that makes him unaffected by the full moon. But in return he has to get her a rose off one of Gretel's bushes. He told me about them. I tried to keep him from going, but he said he had to. I had no idea he was just going to leave in the middle of the night like that, though. I have to go after him." Virginia said.

"Uh uh. No. Not in your condition. Wolf's…well, a wolf. He can take care of himself." Tony said.

"And I can't?" Virginia demanded, her hands planted on her hips.

"That's not what I meant! I…" Tony stumbled.

"I am going after Wolf. I may be pregnant, but I'm not helpless. I'm not even that far along. I'm only about a month in. I'll be fine. Wendell, I need a horse. Something that even dad could ride."

"Hey!"

"You can have any horse you like, Virginia, of course, but I would advise strongly against this. I'll send a messenger after Wolf and get him to turn around." Wendell offered.

"No. He won't listen." Virginia said, shaking her head, "I have to go. And no one is talking me out of it."

"You were always stubborn." Tony said, "But usually you had some common sense. At least, wait for the rest of us. Wendell can send a few guards and I'll go with. Just…"

"No! Now if someone would point me towards that horse and show me where I can get some supplies….?"

Wendell sighed. He called a servant over to help her. Virginia was soon out the door.

"I can't let her go off on her own like that. From the way she was acting and the way you responded, it's dangerous. Can we send somebody after her at least?" Tony asked.

Wendell nodded in agreement.

"Anything you want, Anthony. I don't like this any more than you do. I'll send some guards after them and tell them not to interfere unless they're in trouble. Maybe she won't be too upset." Wendell suggested.

Tony nodded. He wouldn't let anything happen to Virginia. If he didn't know that he would just get in the way himself, he'd be after her. Hopefully she would talk some sense into that wolf and they would come home before anything bad happened. He silently prayed for the best.


	3. Chapter 3

-1 Walking silently on a possibly long journey was not for Wolf. After a few moments where he could tell they were both turning things over in their minds, he began talking again.

"How's the food out here, anyway?"

Cinnamon smiled.

"Good if you can catch it." she replied, "I can get a rabbit if you're hungry?"

Wolf was a little surprised. He had never been asked a question like that before. Like he couldn't do it himself.

"I can catch a rabbit." he said a little indignantly.

Cinnamon heard his tone and realized she had accidentally bruised his masculine pride. She quickly covered. She wasn't used to talking to other people. She didn't meet many.

"I know. Sorry. I just figured that since I know the area…" she began, trying to explain.

Wolf shrugged, dismissing it.

"I'm always hungry, as my wife tells me. Feel free to catch a rabbit anytime you like." he said.

"Your wife?" Cinnamon asked.

Wolf nodded and got one of those dreamy looks on his face.

"Oh, yes. Virginia. Huff-puff, she's just so….succulent. She has the creamiest skin and the most beautiful eyes. And she has the most wonderful smell." Wolf sighed, "She is probably very mad at me right now. She didn't want me to go after the golden roses. I hope she listened to my note and stayed there."

Cinnamon shifted uneasily. It felt a little weird listening to him talk about his mate. She coughed a little.

"Virginia? That doesn't sound like a wolf name." she said.

"Oh, no. She's human. She's from the 10th Kingdom. King Wendell named her a hero for saving the 9 Kingdoms. He says I'm a hero, too." Wolf said.

Now Cinnamon was even more confused. She stopped, placing a hand to her head.

"10th Kingdom? Saving the 9 Kingdoms? I need to get out of these woods more often. When did this happen?" she asked.

Wolf looked surprised. She could understand why. The discovery of a new kingdom and the saving of the 9 they had and she hadn't heard a word of it.

"An evil queen was going to take over the nine kingdoms by poisoning all their leaders. She turned Wendell into a dog, well, actually she switched Wendell with a dog. That is, he was in the dog's body and the dog was in his…" Wolf began.

Virginia kept one hand firmly wrapped in the horse's mane. The other she used to steer. She kicked and kicked. She had asked for a placid animal, not a dead one. The stupid horse would stop moving if she stopped kicking. She knew she would be dreadfully sore when she reached Wolf. And he would be sorry for making her that way.

Virginia gritted her teeth and forced the horse to canter. For one thing, it was a lot less bumpy than the trot and it covered more ground quicker. Hopefully Wolf hadn't gotten too far.

Virginia was half filled with anger at Wolf and half with worry for him. She sighed. This wasn't the honeymoon she had had in mind.

Wendell didn't know what to do. He had to tell Tony at least. This whole mess with Wolf and Virginia had been totally ill timed. He needed them! And now that he thought about it, they had just discovered part of the problem on their own.

The witch that Wolf had gone to was most certainly the same witch who had sent a letter to every ruler in the kingdoms saying if they didn't sign over their kingdoms to her, she would destroy them. If she got the golden roses, she would be nearly unstoppable.

Wendell paced some more in his private audience room. He had sent for Anthony. Where was he? Wendell rubbed his temples. He was getting the worst headache.

That's when Tony entered, followed by the servant that had gotten him. Wendell waved the servant away and he closed the door after him.

"What is it, Pri…Wendell?" Tony asked.

He still had a tendency to call him Prince. Wendell didn't like it because it reminded him of his time as a dog, so Tony had tried to stop.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news. I didn't want to tell Wolf and Virginia and interrupt their honeymoon, but I'm afraid they've discovered it on their own. That witch that placed the spell on Wolf has threatened the kingdoms and if she gets that rose…" Wendell shook his head, "Plus, she somehow managed to get an agent of her own through the mirror. I'm not sure what he is, I just know he's not human and that he's up to no good in the Tenth Kingdom. I need your help."

"Our help? Are you kidding?" Tony asked, incredulous.

"Yes. You saved the kingdoms once before, I can only hope you can do it again. You're the only hope for the kingdoms." Wendell said.

Tony covered his face with his hand.

"Ooooh, I don't like this. I'm going after Virginia. Do you have anything at all to help us save the kingdoms?"

Wendell stopped and thought.

"I'm not sure. I will send some more guards with you. I can't send many because most of them are protecting the borders. Queen Riding Hood is pretty upset about my pardoning of wolves and the Troll Kingdom is still in an uproar about the death of their king. It's just such a disaster, Anthony." Wendell finished.

Tony sighed.

"I really should have seen this coming. What did I expect? Peace and quiet? Oh, no. Of course not." he shook his head, "Life in the 9 Kingdoms."

"I can't believe I missed all that! A royal pardon for wolves! That's amazing! You are a hero!" Cinnamon said.

"Not really." Wolf said, a little embarrassed, "I just did what anyone else would have done in the same situation."

Not me, Cinnamon thought guiltily.

She wasn't the best example of a good wolf. She basically didn't care much for anything that didn't effect her personally. Listening to Wolf's story had awakened some questions that had never even occurred to her before. She balked away from them and concentrated instead on the actual story.

"You still loved this Virginia even after she was going to leave you to die?" she asked, "I don't think I would have even wanted to speak with her if it were me."

Wolf looked at her with surprise.

"She's my mate. Of course I still loved her. Besides, that's not the point. The point is she didn't leave me. She believed in me even if I wasn't completely honest."

Wolf didn't really understand Cinnamon. She asked some questions that just didn't seem right for a wolf to ask. He scratched his temple at the curious thought. She was a lone wolf, he had known that simply from the way she howled and the way she acted. He wondered if she had chosen to be that way.

It was none of his business. He was grateful to her for helping him and glad of the company on the way. Huff-puff, he even liked her. She really was like his sister. But she wasn't his sister and it wasn't his job to stick his nose in her life.

Wolf's stomach growled, making him forget his thoughts. The idea of a nice rabbit was looking more and more appealing. Fluffy, furry rabbits. Hopping right into his mouth.

Wolf shook his head, snapping out of it. He discovered his tongue had lolled out. He hurriedly wiped at the little bit of drool on his cheek and checked to see if Cinnamon had seen.

"You know, I think I'll take you up on that rabbit. Huff, I bet I can catch one before you, your territory or not!"

Cinnamon cocked her head, thinking over the challenge. She shrugged.

"Sure, but you'll never win. By the way, you still have a bit of drool by your mouth." she pointed, then spun and dashed off into the woods.

Wolf wiped at his mouth with a frown, then hurried off to find his own rabbit. He let his nose and his instincts lead him off into the trees.

Virginia let the horse stop and slid to the ground. Her muscles screamed at her, but she ignored them as she dropped on her knees next to the small brook and got a drink. She cupped the water in her hand and drank her fill, splashing some on her face, before struggling back to her feet. That's when she noticed the imprints on the ground. Someone had stopped for a drink here. She could only hope that it was Wolf and she was on the right trail. Something inside her though knew that it was Wolf's tracks. She wasn't an expert tracker, but she knew Wolf. He was close. She could feel it.

Virginia remounted the horse and hurried it to the fastest pace she could stand. She hoped fervently that she would catch Wolf before dark. She did not want to be in these strange woods alone at night.

The witch stooped over her scrying cauldron. In it she saw her Wolf running through the woods, chasing a rabbit. She was about to make him get back to work getting the rose, but stopped herself. She needed him to be in full strength. Let him have his rabbit.

She was a little more worried about that she-wolf. She could present a problem later on. It would be better to get her on her side. Yes, that was safer.

The witch turned and took up her spell book. She quickly mixed the right ingredients and turned back to her cauldron. She changed the picture to that of the she-wolf and sprinkled the mixture over it. She coughed out a few words. There was a flash and Cinnamon appeared.

Cinnamon jumped in surprise, then quickly crouched into a fighting position, a growl building in her throat. She backed away, trying for the door.

"Stop." the witch said and Cinnamon found herself frozen in place.

"Let me go, witch!" Cinnamon cried, struggling, but unable to move.

"I will. But first, I need your help. I want you to make sure that Wolf gets a golden rose and that he does not return to the Tenth Kingdom. Will you do that for me?" the witch asked.

"I'm not going to help you! Release me!" Cinnamon demanded.

"Fine. Go." the witch said, waving her hand.

Cinnamon felt herself released and went right for the door. But before she could reach it, the witch threw dust over her. Cinnamon fell to the floor, unmoving.

"Listen closely, she-wolf. You will make sure that Wolf gets a golden rose and that he delivers it to me. And you will make sure that he does not return to the Tenth Kingdom no matter what. You will do as I tell you without question. Now awake."

Cinnamon stirred and blinked uncertainly. She rolled up onto hands and knees, looking around, trying to figure out where she was. She began to climb to her feet, sniffing the air, looking for a familiar scent. She looked up and saw the witch and something snapped inside her. She stayed on one knee and bowed her head, making a small submissive whine.

"Good girl." the witch said, placing a hand on top of her head.

Cinnamon whined a rubbed her head against the witch's hand. The witch patted her hair once, then withdrew her hand.

"Stand up. I'm going to send you back. Do as I told you." she said.

Cinnamon jumped to her feet, her own eyes flashing. The witch said another spell and waved her arm and Cinnamon disappeared.

The witch smiled to herself and returned to the cauldron. She scanned the area, looking for her two pet wolves. Wolf had caught a rabbit and was preparing it with a careful, critical expertise. Cinnamon had joined him and they were talking and eating.

Something pulled at the witch's conscious. Something else was threatening her plan. Someone was following her wolves!

She moved the image until she found her. A girl riding a brown horse. It was Wolf's mate. She could prove the most dangerous of all to her plan. Something had to be done about her before she could reach Wolf. Her magic was strong, but true love was always stronger than any spell. Virginia might be able to talk Wolf out of doing her bidding.

"Deal with her, my she-wolf. Keep her away from Wolf." the witch said.

She waved her hand over the cauldron, switching to the image of King Wendell. She would check on the rulers. They should be getting worried. She smiled to herself. They should be.

Cinnamon's eyes flashed and she stood up. Wolf looked up from his hunk of rabbit at her.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing. I just need…some privacy. I'll be back in a little while. Don't worry. Finish off the rabbit if you want." Cinnamon said in a slightly distracted tone of voice.

Wolf nodded and returned to his meal. He was surprised at Cinnamon's appetite. He hadn't thought that one rabbit would even close to feed two wolves, but she had been very skimpy about eating. She ate like Virginia had before he had insisted on her eating more for their cub's sake at least.

He shrugged it off. Maybe it had something to do with being a girl and that other cycle that girl's had. He didn't know and didn't particularly care to find out. More rabbit for him.

Virginia cursed the stupid horse under her breath. She was really beginning to hate this animal. She was getting close to Wolf, but if the stupid horse didn't move she could miss him.

Virginia raised her eyes to the sky in mock prayer when something caught her eye. She turned her head to get a better look. It was smoke! Someone was close by.

Virginia dug her heels into the horse, but the only response she got was a horsy grunt.

There was a rustling in the greenery to the right. Virginia's gaze was snapped to that area and she braced herself for anything. The horse snorted and plodded along, indifferent.

A form flew out of the brush and into Virginia, knocking her from the horse. Virginia screamed. She hit her head on the ground and her vision fuzzed. She heard a growling nose, then blacked out as something hit her hard in the temple.

Cinnamon felt fangs grow in her mouth and her eyes flashed again. Her mind blurred at the thought of hot, fresh blood, warm in her mouth. But another part of her fought it. She wasn't just an animal! She was human, too! She couldn't do this!

The glow in Cinnamon's eyes dimmed and she balked away from Virginia's limp body. The fangs shrank and she woke from the confusion of the moment. She backed away, then turned and ran before she could do anything bad. She had never done this before without it being a full moon. She didn't like it and didn't know exactly what it meant. She shook her head, pawing at her face with one hand. She needed to get away from here.

Wolf jumped to his feet. He was sure he had heard something. It had sounded like a scream. It had come from the direction Cinnamon had gone in.

Wolf started into the woods in that direction, hoping it had just been his imagination or some animal or something.

Cinnamon ran right into Wolf. Wolf put his arms out to steady her. Something was wrong. He could smell her distress. And something…

"Wolf! Sorry." she said, but wouldn't look at him.

"Cinnamon, is everything okay? Cinnamon. What's…what's wrong." Wolf asked, trying to get her to look at him.

She ducked her head, hiding in her hair. She tried to push past him, but he wouldn't let her.

"Nothing. Nothing. I…I'm just tired. We've got about another hour or so of daylight. You want to see how far we can get and look for a campsite?"

Wolf backed off. Something was very wrong, but she didn't want to tell him. He'd been there. He nodded, letting her keep to herself.

"Sure. Let's go." he said.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Tony asked.

"Whatever you need to do to stop this witch." Wendell said with a small shrug.

"Wendell."

"Yes, Anthony?"

"You owe me. Big time. And next time evil arises, go to the youngsters for help." Tony said.

Wendell tried to keep a smile from coming onto his face.

"Yes, Anthony." he said and knew he was grinning.

Tony mounted the horse Wendell had given him.

"I liked you better as a dog." he muttered.

Just as Tony was about to leave, there was a flash in front of them and a woman appeared. Guards sprang from all around, whipping out swords to point at her. She acted like they weren't even there.

"King Wendell." she said and bowed.

Wendell automatically nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"What are you doing here, witch? Why are you threatening the kingdoms?" Wendell demanded.

The woman laughed.

"I'm not that witch. Although, if I'm correct she may be watching right now. She knows of your plan to send Anthony, but I'm quite sure she doesn't know about me yet. I am a representative of the Major Coven of witches in the 9 Kingdoms. I was sent to help you." she said.

"To help us? Don't witches sit around in their towers thinking of different ways to curse people and that?" Tony asked.

He wasn't feeling particularly partial to witches right now.

"That is a stereotype and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't bring it up again. We witches are sick of the evil witch outlook. People assume that because we choose the path of witchcraft, we are into the black arts and things and should be killed before we can do anything wrong. The Coven sent me to help clear up this new mess. Marissa is doing nothing to improve our reputation. There are good witches, too, you know! Such as myself." she bowed again.

"Thanks for the speech, but I'm not buying it. Through her in the dungeon, boys!" Tony said to the guards.

They looked at Wendell in confusion.

"Not yet. I believe her. I've heard of the Major Coven. They usually keep to themselves and their practices, but they will show up in times of major catastrophes. Seeing as this witch wants to rule the kingdoms, it would make sense for them to send someone to rectify it. What was your name, my lady?" Wendell asked.

"You may call me Maive. And you're wrong. Her goal is not to rule the kingdoms." Maive said.

"Then what is it?" Tony demanded, tired of listening to this lady's longwinded explanations.

"First, she wants ultimate power. She will get close to that with the rose. Second, she wants revenge. When she gets her power she plans to destroy the kingdoms. From the inside out. The Coven can't let that happen."

"But why did she get Wolf to do it for her? And why tell all the rulers?" Wendell asked.

"Because she likes to control people. She's using magic to control Wolf. She's using fear to control the rulers. She needed Wolf. He is probably one of the very few people who could succeed in getting a golden rose. If she had tried herself, she would have died."

"Why do I have the feeling that something I don't like is about to happen?" Tony asked out loud.

"The only way to free Wolf from her power is through Virginia. And she knows this. She has attacked Virginia already. Don't worry, she is still alive. But she is in trouble. I am going with Tony to find her. Once we find her, we can cut off Marissa's chance at the roses." Maive finished.

Tony groaned.

"No. No you are not traveling with me. Wendell, please say she is not traveling with me." Tony begged.

"I'm sorry Anthony, but…." Wendell began.

"Ooooh! I hate my life!" Tony cried in frustration, kicking the horse into a trot and riding out of the courtyard.

The guards backed away from Maive and sheathed their swords. Maive looked at Tony, then to Wendell. She raised one eyebrow.

"Actually, I think he took that rather well." Wendell said quietly.

Virginia groaned and tried to move. She was bruised and battered, but nothing was broken. She opened her eyes and looked around. Her head throbbed horribly and when she reached up to touch it, partially dried blood came off on her fingers and she felt a growing bump.

Virginia climbed to her feet. She couldn't remember where she was or how she had gotten there. Or why she had come here in the first place. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't even remember _who_ she was!

"Oh, no. This can't be good." she said out loud to herself.

She looked around. It was night. Very late. Maybe midnight. She needed to get someplace safe. At least she hadn't lost her common sense. There was bound to be all kinds of nasty things out here that would eat her up if they had the chance.

An owl hooted, making her jump. And she could hear rustling in the bushes, now that she was listening. Virginia started to walk along the almost path that wound through the woods. Hopefully she would find someone who could help her.

The dark forest was very frightening. She couldn't remember being this scared.

Virginia almost smacked herself in the forehead, but knew it would hurt too much.

"Of course you can't, idiot." she said out loud.

She tried not to let her mind play tricks on her and jump too much at every little noise, but she couldn't help it. She began to walk faster and faster until she broke into a run. The shadows of trees began to look like monsters and she fled off the path and into the woods. She beat away the branches that seemed to try to grab her and kept running until she was tripped by a root and fell. The fall jarred her head and she groaned with pain. She curled up on the ground, pulling her knees close to her body, shaking with cold and fear, and tried not to panic.

She was so grateful when the sun rose that she almost cried.

Maive had to hurry her horse to catch up to Tony. She was still trying to get him to listen to her. He wasn't hearing a word of it. The guards that trailed them were pretending not to hear them.

"Tony, would you please listen to me. This is very important. You have no idea of how to stop Marissa." Maive said.

"I don't need your help. She's just a very senile old lady. With magic powers. I can do perfectly fine without you blabbing the whole way there." Tony said.

"I'll have you know…" Maive began haughtily.

"No. I'll have you know. You people think that you're so tough dealing with trolls and stuff. None of you would last ten minutes in Manhattan. You stay there a while and then you talk." Tony said angrily, turning in the saddle so he could yell at her.

Maive was silent for one long (and for Tony precious) moment.

"You know, this is affecting your world, too." Maive said quietly.

Tony almost didn't hear what she said, he was so glad at having proved his point. He jerked in the saddle and turned to face her again.

"What?" he demanded.

"The person or whatever working for Marissa is affecting things in your world. Making confrontations build, people fight. If it keeps up, your world will break out in war. And ours will follow. There are many things about this you don't understand, Tony. Many that I don't understand either. This is more than just your routine wicked witch. You don't know the half of it." Maive said.

Tony sighed.

"And I suppose now you are going to tell me. Alright. I give up. Spill it."

"Spill what?"

"Just tell me the 'half of it' or whatever already!"

"Oh." Maive shook her head slowly. They spoke strangely in the 10th Kingdom, "Marissa was once a young girl raised like most girls in small villages. But she had a gift. Things happened when she was around and she didn't know why. When she got older, her power developed. But it was still erratic. She decided to become a witch. It was the only way she knew to find someone who could help her control it. She was a good person. She didn't want anything bad to happen to anyone. She came to a master enchantress by the name of Belinda. Belinda took her in and taught her all she knew. Marissa became her prize pupil. Belinda knew that one day, Marissa's power would exceed her own. She took her to the council of the Major Coven, asking for her to be accepting as an apprentice in the council. The council rejected her. There was a prophecy given against teaching Marissa any more magic and she was dispelled from the Coven and it was forbidden for anyone to teach her. Marissa was still young and she took the banishment hard. She needed the training to control her gifts. She turned to the only person she could find to train her. A dark witch. This evil witch poisoned her mind and soul to her own schemes of revenge and Marissa, already angry with the council, accepted it readily. She is not an evil person. Just a girl who sought guidance and was turned away."

"And so she decided that instead of becoming a good little hermit in the woods, she would try and destroy the kingdoms and ruin the little bit of peace and quiet I've had. Oh, you're right. That was important." Tony said sarcastically.

Maive sighed and shook her head. She was a patient person normally, but she couldn't seem to find any now. She just kept quiet. He didn't understand and she couldn't make him. She imagined how upset he would be if he found out that _she_ wasn't a master witch.

"Are we getting close, Cinnamon?" Wolf asked, scratching his temple again.

"Not sure." Cinnamon said, shaking her head, "I've never been there. But yes, I think we are."

Wolf nodded. Cinnamon was feeling better, he could tell. But that noise he had heard was still bugging him. And that smell he had gotten from Cinnamon. He had been about to place it when she had distracted him. Something wasn't right and he didn't know what.

"Wolf?" Cinnamon asked, surprising him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you…do things…" Cinnamon sighed with frustration, "Do you do things sometimes that you know are bad?"

Wolf stopped. Cinnamon turned towards him. He looked a little shaken.

"Y...yeah. When the full moon comes…I can't control myself. It hits me really hard. And later, I won't remember almost anything of what I did. Or what I ate. And that scares me. Especially with my Virginia around. That's why I went to that witch. That's why I agreed to get her the rose if she did the spell." Wolf said, and almost seemed to have forgotten Cinnamon was there.

"What spell?" Cinnamon asked, now she was shaken, too.

Any dealings with a witch were bad. And if they were important enough that he would go after Gretel's roses, that was even worse. And something about him saying witch gave her a chill. Some kind of association that she couldn't pinpoint.

Wolf started and looked at her.

"A spell to free me of the moon." he said slowly.

Virginia knew she was definitely lost. And that it was her own fault. And she knew that wandering aimlessly like she was now wasn't helping. But what else could she do? She could only hope to find someone out here that could help her.

Virginia's stomach growled. She was so hungry. And for some reason she felt that she was hungrier than usual. She rubbed her stomach and, in surprise, looked down at it. She had gained some weight! She had no idea how she knew that, but she did.

Virginia shook her head. Not important. What was important was she needed to find food and water. She'd die out here without those regardless of what was in these woods.

She smiled a little. At least now she had goal that she could reach. With that thought in mind, she started to look for some water.

"Ooooh, I don't like this. I don't like this. I don't like this." Cinnamon said, her hands in her hair, pacing back and forth.

"What?" Wolf asked. He watched Cinnamon pace back and forth, "Huff-puff, would you stop that! You're making me dizzy."

"Something is very wrong. Something. Something." Cinnamon muttered to herself.

She started off into the woods and Wolf was forced to follow her.

"Cinnamon? Cinnamon! Where are we going?" Wolf demanded, but she didn't seem to hear him.

"I've got to do something. But what? What can I do? Oh, this magic stuff is bad." Cinnamon said.

Wolf was getting very exasperated with Cinnamon. He bounded in front of her, trying to force her to stop and say something to him, but she swerved around him without even glancing at him.

"Got to find another witch. That's it! No, but witches are bad. That'll just make it twice as bad. But can't go back to the first witch. Have to get rid of whatever spells are on us. Oh, Cinnamon, look what you've gotten yourself into." Cinnamon chided herself.

"Would you please tell me what you are babbling about!" Wolf yelled in her face.

Cinnamon looked at Wolf and blinked slowly.

"Gosh, what's pulling on your tail? No need to get mad."

Wolf made a low growl of complete frustration.

"What…are…you…talking…about?" Wolf asked slowly, forcing each word.

"We need to do something about this." Cinnamon said, continuing into the woods, "I just can't believe I let myself get mixed up in this. I know better. Why did I answer you? Why? I'm a lone wolf. I don't…do pack things. If I had just gone about my business, everything would have been fine. But, no. Cinnamon has to decide that the one time she's going to answer a strange howl is the time it belongs to a wolf that's mixed in with a witch. Cinnamon, you are as dumb as a dog."

Wolf's growl was building. He clenched and unclenched his hands and his movements became jerky as he followed after Cinnamon. She was really annoying him with this little episode of hers. If she would just tell him what was going on…

Wolf's nose smelled water. He realized that they were headed in the general direction of a river or something. He calmed a little. At least they could get a drink and rest a little before he strangled Cinnamon!

"Cinnamon, you should really just spit out what you are trying to say. I am usually a patient wolf, but you have pushed me a little too…" Wolf began.

"Do you think she'd find me if I holed up in a little remote den for a while? No, of course she would. She's a witch. She probably has a magic mirror or something to spy on people with. She could be spying on us right now! She could be listening to every word I say! Oh, cripes! We are two very dead wolfies." Cinnamon cried, and in her distress she almost yipped out the words.

She made a small whimpering noise and bit her lip. She was silent a moment before spinning on Wolf and shoving him against a tree. Wolf yelped in more surprise then pain.

"Cripes, Cinnamon! What was that…" he began.

"You! This is your fault! You had to come trotting into my territory with your little lost cub howl and get me pulled into this mess!" she accused.

"Me!" Wolf cried, "You think I planned this!"

"Maybe you did." Cinnamon said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Wolf's growl returned.

"Listen you…you… bossy little fox-tail, if you think that I planned to throw my life on the line instead of snuggling up to my dreamy Virginia on our honeymoon you can just…go chase your tail!" Wolf growled.

Cinnamon began to growl, too.

"Do you know how sick I am of hearing about 'dreamy, creamy, oh so succulent Virginia'? She's not even a wolf! She's not even a person of the kingdoms! I wish you and your Virginia would jump off a cliff!"

"Don't you dare talk about my Virginia…"

"Oh, I dare."

Wolf's growl turned into a snarl. His eyes flashed dangerously. He grabbed Cinnamon's arms and flung her around and threw her up against the tree. Cinnamon snarled back, baring her still human teeth. Her eyes flashed back. She feigned a bite at Wolf, then threw her shoulder into his chest, pushing him backwards. Wolf and Cinnamon began circling wearily, growling low in their throats, ready for an all-out fight.

Marissa hurried to her cauldron, sensing something bad. She summoned a picture of her wolves and gasped in horror at what she saw. They were ready to kill each other. Something must have happened. Maybe her magic had influenced their behavior.

Something had to be done right away. She needed her wolves to cooperate.

An idea came to the old witch and she smiled evilly to herself. She quickly set about concocting a potion.

"My little puppies will soon change their tune. Yes, soon they will be very cooperative." she said to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

-1Virginia came upon a river, cutting through the woods. She took a drink and washed some of the dirt off her face and hands. She looked around. Some of the trees bore fruit, but she couldn't remember what was safe to eat and what wasn't. Virginia stared at some apples for the longest time, turning that over, then finally shrugged and pulled one off the branch. If she didn't eat something she would starve.

She pulled off a few more apples to take with her, then started walking along the river. That way at least she would have water and most likely some food nearby. It was better then wandering aimlessly.

Wolf lunged at Cinnamon, knocking her down. He grinned and Cinnamon saw fangs. She shoved and pushed him over, trying to pin him down.

Suddenly, Cinnamon froze. She looked down at Wolf and saw he was staring up at her. He growled again, but this time it had a completely different meaning. Cinnamon whined in response and rubbed her face against his chest. She looked up at Wolf and saw he was still staring at her. She licked him on the nose.

Wolf started. His eyes flashed again and he jumped to his feet, dumping Cinnamon on the ground.

"You're right. This is bad." Wolf agreed, panting.

Cinnamon continued to stare at Wolf.

"What's bad? We're here, together. What could be wrong?"

"I have a mate, that's what's wrong!" Wolf said, unsure if he was angrier with her or himself.

Cinnamon rolled on her back, scratched at her nose and sighed.

"Oh, her. She's not even a wolf. Are you sure she counts?" Cinnamon asked lightly.

"Of course, she…ooooh, I can't stay here right now." Wolf said, walking quickly away from Cinnamon.

The way she was lying there, so wolfish and yet innocent…he had to stop that thought. Virginia. Yes, that was who he should be thinking of. His mate, Virginia. Who was carrying his, their cub.

Wolf was quickly off into the trees. Cinnamon glanced after him. She sighed again and rolled over, slowly climbing to her feet. There was a lot she knew she should be worried about, but for some reason she could only think of Wolf.

Tony called a halt. He hated horses. Really, really hated them. Virginia had talked him into riding once in Central Park. He had been sore for a week afterwards. He would probably be sore for a month after this!

"Let's take a break for a while." he said to the guards.

He had taken to ignoring Maive. He knew she was becoming about as frustrated with him and he was with her, but he really didn't care. He didn't want her here. He was only putting up with her at all because of Wendell. Oh, Wendell. He was going to hear about this for a nice, long while.

One of the guards took Tony's horse as he collapsed under a tree. Wolf had made it to the witch and back in about twelve hours according to Virginia. But Wolf had probably run the entire way there. At the pace they were going it would take them about a day and some hours. Which meant camping out in the wilderness. Tony groaned inwardly and outwardly. He had thought he was passed that. Oh, yes. Wendell owed him so much for this.

"Tony. Please listen to me. Neither of us can defeat her alone. I don't have the magic and you don't have the knowledge. She knows we are coming., we don't have the element of surprise. If we want to stop her, we have to work together and we have to work out a plan." Maive said.

"Oh, I have a plan. You stay out of the way, our good friends the guards put their swords to this witch's throat, and I hit her over the head with a large pot pretending that she is you." Tony said venomously.

Riding didn't put him in a good mood. Maive's whining and blubbering put him in an even worse one. He wanted her quiet. He thanked God that Virginia wasn't that way. Although she could be if she chose. Those were usually the times they had big arguments.

Maive raised her hands and looked ready to strangle Tony. She made a step toward him as if to do so, then stopped suddenly, in mid-step. She closed her eyes and dropped her hands. Tony, sensing something, looked up at her. He frowned. This couldn't be good.

"Hey, witch-girl? What's…" he began.

"Shhh. I'm getting a vision." she said.

Suddenly, Maive gasped and fell. Tony jumped to his feet (which caused _him_ to gasp in pain), caught her and lowered her to the ground. His frowned deepened. Something weird was going on.

"Something is very wrong with Wolf and Virginia." she said, her eyes still closed.

"Virginia! Are they together?" Tony asked anxiously.

If Virginia was with Wolf, he would protect her no matter what.

"No. They're separate. And I'm getting some kind of blankness? Something missing? It's from Virginia. Confusion from both of them. Temptation from Wolf. Guilt. Urgency. There's magic on him." Maive opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She rubbed her temple absently with one hand, "C...could I have some water, please?"

One of the guards gave her a canteen. She swallowed some. She didn't look too great. Tony guessed the vision must have been hard on her.

"So what's it mean?" Tony pressed.

"I don't know. All I know is that it could seriously affect the outcome of all this. Wolf's is definitely under a spell. Maybe more than one spell. And something or someone is with him that is also being influenced by magic. I don't know what was wrong with Virginia, but I know she is headed away from Wolf. We have to do something about this before it's too late." Maive insisted.

"What?"

Maive shook her head again.

"I don't know. But something has to be done." she said.

Tony straightened and took a deep breath.

"I saw we take care of this witch right now. We force her to take the spells off them or…well, we're going to get rid of those spells one way or another. And a dead witch's spells don't work."

Wolf stopped when he reached the river. He splashed his face with cold water, hoping it would help clear his mind. It did a little, but not enough.

Wolf sighed and sat at the edge of the water, throwing rocks into it.

"Wolves mate for life. I know that. I love Virginia. She's my mate. So why in the kingdoms did I growl like that at Cinnamon. The full moon is close, but I can't use that excuse. Huff-puff, this doesn't make any sense at all." he said to himself. He sighed again and shifted into a more comfortable position, "I wish Virginia was here. I wish I hadn't gone to that witch. I wish I knew what was going on. Oh, Wolf. You can keep wishing all day. It won't get you anywhere."

Wolf yawned. All this confusion was tiring. And they had traveled at a pretty decent pace. Cinnamon was close by (which was part of the problem). It would be okay if he took a small little nap.

Virginia thought she might have heard voices yelling, but decided it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She continued walking along the river, munching on an apple at the same time. She hadn't walked for long when she stopped. Ahead of her was a man with dark hair and a very handsome face, sleeping under a tree. Maybe she _had_ heard voices. Something about the man gave her a strange feeling deep inside. She wanted to go up to him and touch his face. Her fingers itched to touch his cheek.

Virginia walked forward slowly, quietly, hoping not to wake him. She was almost at his side when a figure broke out of the trees.

Cinnamon stepped out of the trees. Her eyes snapped to Virginia and Wolf. When she saw Virginia, her eyes glowed. She lounged at Virginia, but when Virginia had seen her she had started to run. Cinnamon smiled. A chase was good.

Cinnamon followed Virginia silently. She almost lost sight of her, but her scent was a clear trail. She had run along the river until she came to a log that fell across the river. Cinnamon broke into a jog once she was across. She quickly caught sight of her again. Cinnamon let Virginia run some more. She wanted some distance between them and Wolf. After a few more moments, she started closing the distance between her and her prey. She could hear her panting and she could smell her fear.

Cinnamon pounced, knocking Virginia to the ground. Virginia kicked and struggled, trying o get away. She connected with Cinnamon's stomach with her knee. Cinnamon growled in anger and fangs grew in her mouth. If she bit just right she could pull out the vocal cords, too, and she wouldn't even get a chance to scream.

Maive collapsed in her saddle. Another vision. This was unusual. She didn't get visions this often, normally.

Maive closed her eyes and waited for information. But instead of the normal feelings and half-formed pictures, she saw Snow White.

"I need your help right away, Maive. I need you to let me use your powers. Virginia is in danger and will die if we don't act immediately. Will you let me use your body?" she asked.

Maive nodded, trusting Snow White even though she didn't know her.

"Yes."

Tony looked at Maive. Something was wrong with her. He moved his brainless horse next to hers and took her reins. He was afraid to disturb her if she was having another vision. Who knew what might happen.

Suddenly, Maive sat straight up in her saddle, her eyes flying open.

"Stop." she said and there was something different about her voice.

Tony pulled on his reins and hers.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I need to do a spell now. You will assist me. Virginia's life is in danger." she said tersely as she dismounted.

Tony didn't like the idea of being involved in any kind of witchcraft, but if Virginia was in trouble, he would do whatever it took to help her. He hurriedly dismounted and followed Maive as she removed things from her bag and set them on the ground.

"I don't have time for a full ceremony, so let's just get this arranged. Set these candles up in each of the directions. Leave room to stand in the middle. When you're done I need you to join me in the center. You're close to Virginia. It will help." Maive instructed.

Tony did as she said as quickly as possible. Maive lit each of the candles, saying incantations under her breath. When she was done, she stepped into the center with Tony.

"Take my hand. Thank of Virginia. Think of her safe and of how much you love her. And believe in me. I will help her." Maive promised.

Tony nodded. Anything to help Virginia. He closed his eyes and listened to Maive's lilting rhyme. He wondered why everything here had to rhyme, then focused on Virginia.

"Ancient powers I summon here, bide my words and do my task. Protect the one whose close to our hearts, this we bid you, this we ask. Throw off the foe who threatens her and guide her to the one who can her questions answer. As it is spoken, so mote it be. As it is spoken, so mote it be. As it is spoken, so mote it be." Maive said.

The candle flames roared up, then died just as quickly. Maive's eyes flew open and she dropped to one knee. She looked at Tony, wondering why she was holding his hand and why they were standing in a spell circle. He looked at her and she could tell he was waiting for her to tell him something.

"What happened?" she asked.

Tony blinked in surprise.

"What? What do you mean what happened?" he demanded.

"That was Snow White before. She wanted to use my body to help Virginia. What did she do?" she asked.

"She did a spell. She said it would help her. Did it or not?"

"I don't know. But I can check. Stand back, give me some room. I can scry her out."

Maive got some water and poured it in a bowl. She did the proper spell for scrying. She and Tony both leaned over the bowl. The two guards waited apprehensively.

Cinnamon tilted her head and leaned in to rip out Virginia's throat. But as she did she was thrown back. She didn't realize how far back until she got to her feet and saw she was almost six feet away from her prey. She lounged at her, but was thrown back again. The girl was looking at her with wide, scared eyes. She scrambled backwards away from her. Cinnamon tried once more to grab her, but again was thrown back. Something was protecting this girl. And she couldn't get to her. But she could keep her away from Wolf.

Cinnamon growled again, letting her fangs show. The girl climbed to her feet and ran away. Cinnamon followed her a little, then turned and headed back. She made sure to destroy the girl's scent with some strong smelling weeds. She swam back across the river to get rid of the scent on herself. When she finally reached Wolf, he was still asleep.

Cinnamon's eyes flashed and dimmed. She shook her head in confusion. Why had she done that. It was the same girl as before. Was it the girl? Or was it her?

Cinnamon wrung out the bottom of her shirt over Wolf's head. He started awake and jumped to his feet.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Cinnamon shrugged and smiled. Those other thoughts just gave her a headache. She pushed them aside and concentrated instead on Wolf.

Wendell paced in his castle. He had probably paced miles worth in the past few days. Tension was mounting all across the kingdoms. He didn't know what it was. He supposed it might have something to do with the witch, but he couldn't rely on that. All the rulers of the other kingdoms were pressuring him to do something and all he could tell them was to please wait. Soon, one of them would get tired of that answer and take it out on him and his kingdom.

"Anthony. I'll give you anything. Just please, please fix this." he said out loud.

Virginia kept running even though she knew that the girl or whatever she was had stopped following her. She had been incredibly lucky. She still didn't know what had kept the monster-girl away from her. She decided not to question it, but to just be thankful and not waist the chance for her life that had been given her.

When she finally stopped, she leaned over, hands on her knees, panting. She waited to catch her breath, then continued on at a walk. She kept her guard up, just in case the girl had followed her, but she was pretty sure she was safe now. She tried to work out the strange things that had happened.

"Who was that guy anyway?" she asked herself, wishing with all her heart that she knew the answer.

"I know! I know!"

Virginia jumped in surprise, whirling around, looking for the source of the small voice.

"It's me!" the voice said, "Look down."

Virginia looked down and saw a ring on her hand. On the ring was a small, pearl-like face. And it was talking.

"Who are you?" Virginia asked.

"I'm a symbol of eternal love and devotion, but I got scared by all the commotion. The one's whose name you asked so forcefully is your husband, your one and only." the ring sang happily.

"Do you have to rhyme?" Virginia asked, but she ignored that and concentrated on the ring's song, "You mean that that man was my husband? I have a husband? And I don't remember him! Please, tell me more. I really hope this memory loss isn't permanent."

"The name of Wolf goes he by and you are the apple of his eye. Your name is Virginia, daughter of Tony and hero to all. You brought about the evil queen's fall." the ring sang.

"Wolf. What an odd name." Virginia mused.

She really wanted to go back now and talk to Wolf. But she was too afraid of that girl to do so.

"Do you know where we are? Where I can find help?" she asked instead.

"The Fifth Kingdom this had been deemed, but help isn't as it seemed. Your memory is what you need, a mirror is where they can be freed." the ring sang.

"What?" Virginia asked, confused, "You mean a mirror can give me my memory back? Where is it?"

"The nearest one that will help you is due east, inside a shoe." the ring replied.

"In a shoe? What's that supposed to mean? Hey! Come back here!" she yelled at the ring as it rolled over and the face was gone.

Virginia sighed. Due east, huh? Well, that was a start at least. She would have to be on the lookout for any unusual shoes.

Wolf pushed the pace as much as he could. It gave him little time to think and the way things were going, he wanted it that way. Cinnamon didn't complain and didn't really seem to notice, really. She bounded along next to him and was in a way too playful mood for Wolf's liking. Well, actually it was a lot to his liking, but that's what he didn't like.

"Wolf, let's go find a deer. I bet we could take it down really quick together. It would be fun, wouldn't it?" she asked, walking backwards so she could look at him.

"No. I want to get the rose and go." he said, forcing himself not to look at her.

Cinnamon paused mentally. For some reason she agreed readily with that idea.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. But can't we have fun on the way? Don't be all huffy-puffy." Cinnamon said.

She made a playful growl and tugged on Wolf's arm. He jerked it away from her.

"No!"

Cinnamon frowned. She let herself pout a little.

"Oh, come on. Don't be mean. I won't bite unless you want me to." she promised.

Wolf bit down on his tongue before he could respond to that. He shook his head forcefully.

Cinnamon frowned a little deeper. She let Wolf get ahead of her a little bit, then followed. An idea suddenly came to her and she smiled mischievously.

Cinnamon snuck silently up behind Wolf. She snapped her hand out and yanked his tail out and gave it a pull. Wolf yelped and spun on her. He held his tail behind him with both hands.

"What do you think you're doing!" he demanded.

Cinnamon covered her mouth with both hands, trying not to laugh. She shrugged, but the movement caused her to snort.

"You think that was funny?" he asked in a very serious tone.

Cinnamon shook her head and snorted again, giggling into her hands.

"You do, too!" Wolf accused, "I'll show you what's funny."

Cinnamon watched him with wide eyes, her hands still over her mouth. Wolf circled her, then lounged and freed her tail of her pants and pulled it. Cinnamon jumped forward, whipping around towards Wolf.

"Still funny?" he asked.

"That was not fair at all." Cinnamon declared.

"Oh yeah, and it was fair when you did it." Wolf replied sarcastically.

Cinnamon ignored him and glanced behind him.

"You've got a nice tail. Grey, like my father." Cinnamon commented.

"Thanks." Wolf sputtered, embarrassed, "You, too. Only like my sister. You look like my sister. She was a red wolf."

Cinnamon pulled her tail over a little so she could look at it.

"The full moon's close. I don't remember it being this long." she said.

"Yeah." Wolf agreed, "Do you…do you think we could leave them out?"

"I know. And of course. You think I'm going to stop you? I've got one, too." she said simply.

Wolf nodded and couldn't help, but smile a little.

"I think we're close to those bushes. I can almost smell them, I think." he said.

Cinnamon sniffed, concentrating on the smells.

"I think you're right. Come on. Race you." she challenged.

She took off before Wolf could respond, her tail wagging behind her. Wolf grinned and ran after her.

Virginia was getting tired. She had seen nothing but trees and birds and other woodsy stuff for the past hour. The day was ending. She wanted to sleep. But she wanted to know who she was even more than that. She continued on, hoping she would find whatever the shoe that the ring had spoken of was.

Virginia came into a clearing and came to a dead stop and her jaw dropped.

"This has got to be it." she said out loud.

In the clearing was a giant shoe. But there were windows in it and a door. It looked pretty old, but kept up, as if somebody had fixed it up and taken care of it. Virginia scanned it with her eyes and saw there was a light on in one of the higher windows. Virginia felt hope rise up in her. She ran to the door and knocked desperately.

"Coming!" a voice called, but Virginia couldn't seem to stop knocking, "I said I'm coming!"

A woman opened the door, a little exasperated a Virginia's knocking.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I was told you could help me." Virginia blurted, "You're supposed to have a mirror."

"What? Who are you?" the woman demanded.

"I know I'm Virginia and I know I'm married to a guy named Wolf, but I lost my memory and I need your mirror to get it back so please, please, please let me use it." she gushed in response.

The woman stared at her for a moment. Then sighed.

"Oh, I know I'm foolish, but come in." she said, opening the door. Something suddenly registered, "Wait a minute! Did you say Virginia? And Wolf? The Virginia and Wolf who stopped the Evil Queen!"

"I…guess." Virginia said uncertainly, but the woman didn't even hear her.

She hurried Virginia inside, sputtering nonsense and babbling. She straightened her apron and fixed her hair hurriedly as she sat Virginia down at the table and poured her some tea.

"Oh, this is such an honor. I simply must write letters to all my relatives. It'll take a month! You may have heard of our family. We are the Hubbards." she puffed up a little as she said that, "My grandmother had two historic poems written about her."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember…" Virginia began apologetically.

"Oh, of course! I'm so sorry! Can I do anything, anything at all to help you?" she asked.

"Well, the…" Virginia started again.

"The mirror! I'm such a troll! Right away. Here, follow me." Miss Hubbard hurried Virginia away before she could get even a sip of tea.

Virginia let her bustle her up the stairs. Miss Hubbard opened a door to a room with a large dusty mirror in it.

"This is the only magic mirror I know of. I don't know exactly what it does, but I'm sure it's magic. Mom told all of us children that. It was a gift to my grandmother…but you don't care about that. Here, here. You see to the mirror and see if it helps you." Miss Hubbard said, placing Virginia in front of it.

Virginia's head was still spinning from all Miss Hubbard's chatter and being whirled all over her house, but she concentrated on the mirror, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do now. She looked to the ring for guidance.

"Will you help me now?" she asked, "I need to know how to work this."

"Turn the handle to turn it on, then pose your question as my song. The mirror will answer tried and true, then a rescue you must do." the ring sang.

"'Kay." Virginia said, trying to decipher that.

She ran her hands along the frame of the mirror, trying to turn it "on". She came to a knob on the side and as she ran her hand over it, it moved. The mirror lighted a little and a face appeared in it.

"Pose my question as the ring's song. That must mean in rhyme. Okay." Virginia took a deep breath and turned to the mirror, "Can you return to my memory to me…if I ask very nicely?"

Virginia knew that rhyme was incredibly lame, but it was the best she could do on short notice.

"I can do the task, but this first I must ask. You must do something in return, then the favor you will earn." the mirror replied.

"What?" Virginia asked. The mirror didn't reply. She sighed, "What must I do for you and get my memory, too?"

"I do not wish to remain in the dust. So in you I trust. Spread word to all to visit me, and restore me to the fame of previously." the mirror replied almost shyly.

"You mean you want to be used again?" Virginia was surprised.

The mirror was lonely! It wanted to get used and talked to. That she could do!

"This favor I will ensure, but please my memory loss cure." Virginia rhymed.

A hand reached out of the mirror and touched Virginia on the forehead. Virginia gasped at the cold touch, then fell to her knees as all the memories rushed back to her. She barely avoided fainting. Miss Hubbard hurried over to help her.

"Oh, goodness! Are you alright, dear?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes. I'm great." Virginia nodded.

She turned to the mirror.

"My greatest thanks I give to you. And to our agreement I will be true." she promised whole-heartedly.

The mirror smiled and faded back, then disappeared as Virginia turned it off.

"Did it work, Virginia dear? Do you have your memory back?" Miss Hubbard asked.

Virginia nodded.

"I'm afraid so. And I remember that my husband is in a lot of trouble. I'd love to stay, Miss Hubbard, but I have to hurry. It may be too late already."

"Tony! Stop! Tony, no!" Maive cried desperately.

They had reached the witch's house and Tony wanted to charge right in there and force her to undo all her spells, but Maive knew that would never work. She grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him back into the bushes.

"You can't just barge in there! She'll kill you or worse. We need to think this out. I've been working out a plan now…" Maive began.

"Oh, my god! Maive! What is that!" Tony cried, pointing behind her.

Maive whipped around to see what Tony saw. Tony grabbed her from behind and clapped a hand over her mouth. He motioned to the guards.

"I'm really sorry about this Maive. Well, not really sorry, but sorry at least." Tony said as he and the guards tied her to the tree and gagged her.

She shook her head furiously, her eyes wide. They couldn't do this to her!

"We'll come back for you after we take care of this witch. Alright? Good." Tony said, "Come on, guys. Swords ready."

Tony and the guards snuck off around the house of the witch. Maive tried her best to get free, but without being able to use her hands or speak, she couldn't even use her magic.

Cinnamon slid to a stop. She couldn't believe her eyes! She looked backwards for Wolf, wondering if it was just her or if he was seeing this, too. Wolf had just run up. He looked up and saw the roses and nearly ran into her as he tried to stop.

"Cripes." he breathed.

They had found the golden roses. They sparkled and glistened. They were too beautiful for words. And only a few feet away. Wolf didn't see anything between him and the roses, but he knew better.

"What do you know about the traps on them?" he asked without taking his eyes off the flowers.

Cinnamon shrugged, also staring at the roses.

"Not much. Mostly just what's in the legends. Dark spirits, death traps, poison thorns. Who knows if the spirits are even still around or if they're traps still work? But I wouldn't rely on that." Cinnamon warned.

"Me neither." Wolf agreed.

He picked up a rock and threw it at the ground right before the bushes. Steal spikes, six-foot long, shot up out of the ground. Wolf gulped.

The spikes held in position for about three minutes before sucking back into the ground. Wolf gulped again.

"So what do we do?" Cinnamon asked.

"Um…okay. If you can stay here and make sure the spikes stay up, I can get through. Okay?"

Cinnamon nodded and quickly gathered a big pile of stones.

Virginia alternated running and jogging, trying to find the river. If she could find the spot where she had last scene Wolf, she could start from there. She wasn't a tracker (although she was learning quickly from all this), but she knew she would be able to find him. Had to be able to find him.

"Wolf. I'm coming. Don't do anything stupid." Virginia muttered.

Tony waved the guards in first and followed slowly after. The first guard kicked down the door, his sword in hand, the other guard on his heels. The stormed into the house. Tony heard a (he couldn't find a better word) cackle and then silence. He poked his head around the building to see what was happening.

"Come in, Tony." the witch said.

Tony started in surprise, then warily entered. The two guards had been frozen in place like painted statues. Tony stepped around them, but kept them between him and the witch.

"I'm ordering you to stop with the spells and magic mumbo-jumbo." he said in his most dignified and commanding voice.

The witch cackled again.

"I won't be ordered around by an ex-janitor." she said sharply and Tony winced, "An ex-janitor who couldn't even keep his daughter from running off with a Wolf and right into a terribly dangerous situation. You're not even there for her now. What gives you the right to tell me what to do?"

Tony stuttered. Her words had cut too deep. She had practically stated some of his greatest doubts and fears.

"Th…that's not true. I'm a h…hero." he protested.

"That's what Wendell tells you because he feels sorry for you. What did you actually do? Followed Wolf and Virginia around. Talked to Wendell. Occasionally convinced someone to help the others." she shrugged, "They would have fared perfectly fine without you."

"Shut up! You're just trying to trick me!" Tony yelled, "You're lying."

"Am I?" the witch asked simply and turned her back on Tony.

Tony saw an opportunity and lounged at the witch. But just as he was closing in on her, she spun and threw dust in his face. Tony realized his mistake too late. Then, he fell to the ground as Wolf and Cinnamon had done earlier.

Meanwhile, Queen Riding Hood the Third was sick of waiting on that over-zealous pup, King Wendell. Her patience had never been great, but she made up for it in her temper. She screamed for her General. He quickly ran into the throne room and knelt before her. Even the general knew better than to upset his queen.

"General Sampson, I want troops in the 4th Kingdom. And I want them now! If Wendell doesn't do something about this, then I'll have to." she narrowed her eyes dangerously and said in a much quieter voice, "If that witch wants to rule, we'll see how Wendell's crown fits."

Wolf watched as Cinnamon's first stone flew through the air and to a spot near the bush. The spikes shot up. Wolf hurried through them, weaving carefully, trying not to touch any of them. He could tell they were deadly sharp.

Cinnamon watched nervously. She was practically jumping out of her skin. She paused carefully, watching for any movement in the spears, a stone in her hand. The spikes glistened dangerously. She bit her lip.

The spikes started to slip and Cinnamon jumped.

"Wolf! Freeze!" she yelled.

Wolf stopped, careful to keep all his limbs away from the spikes. They sucked back into the ground. A moment later, Cinnamon's rock struck the ground and they shot back up. Wolf continued on.

"Oh, be careful." Cinnamon muttered nervously.

Wolf was so close. He tried to reach out and pluck one of the roses, careful of the thorns that he knew were poison. He stuck his tongue out and narrowed his eyes with concentration. He leaned over farther, his fingertips almost touching the golden petals of the nearest rose.

Wolf's balance faltered and his arm dipped. It brushed a spike and opened a gash in his arm. The spike was so sharp it had sheared right through his sleeve and skin in just a touch. Wolf yelped and whimpered in pain, jerking his arm back. He clamped a hand over the wound, lifting his hand to see blood all over it. He whined and licked the wound, then looked back up at the roses. They were so close! The breeze blew them a tiny bit and it was as if they were silently mocking him. He gritted his teeth with determination and reached for the rose again.

Cinnamon cringed at Wolf's pained whimper. She wanted to bound over there and help him, but knew she couldn't. She shook with suppressed jitters.

Wolf's fingers closed around the top of the rose. He pulled, bracing himself with one foot behind him. He had no idea how hard it would be to free the flower. To his surprise, it broke away easily.

Wolf stood in the middle of the spikes with the rose in his hand. He looked very surprised. Cinnamon wanted to howl with joy. He had gotten it! He hadn't died! They could leave!

Wolf started carefully back when the ground began to shake. Cinnamon's eyes went wide. Oh no!

"Wolf!" she yelled.

Wolf braced himself, trying not to fall into any of the spikes.

"What is that?" he yelled back.

Cinnamon looked around wildly, looking for what was causing the sound. Then, she looked up.

The treetops swayed slightly a short distance away. The closer trees began to sway as if whatever it was was getting closer. Cinnamon had a terrible suspicion.

"Oh, you're not going to like this!" Cinnamon cried.

Wolf followed her gaze and saw the trees. He quickly came to the same conclusion as Cinnamon. He began to run, almost disregarding the spikes. They sucked into the ground again and he lounged the last few feet, falling to the ground near Cinnamon. She helped him up quickly. They both shot a glance back at the trees to see that they had parted to show…a giant!

Wolf and Cinnamon ran for the trees on the other side of the clearing. The ground pounded so hard that every time they tried to run they were thrown to the ground. The giant spotted them and stomped toward them. He reached out for them.

Wolf saw the giant's hand coming. He jumped to his feet, grabbed Cinnamon's arm, and dragged her after him as he ran back towards the giant, avoiding the hand and dashing between his legs. The giant lifted his foot to step on them. The two wolves split up, running in opposite directions.

"Hide! I'll find you later!" Wolf yelled, running back in front of the giant to draw him off.

Giants were big, but not too smart. It wouldn't be hard to distract him. Cinnamon dashed off in the other direction, diving into a deep niche under a bush near some large tree roots. She scrunched down into the leaves and soil, trying to hide, but be able to watch at the same time.

Wolf led the giant away into the forest. The giant made some annoyed grunts and incoherent murmuring as he strode after him. Cinnamon quickly lost sight of Wolf, but could still see the trees moving off into the distance, signaling the giant's passage. She wanted to run after, to make sure Wolf got away. But she also didn't want to leave her hiding place. She was a lone wolf. She didn't know how to do the pack thing. She stayed put telling herself she was doing what Wolf had told her. He would find her later.

Virginia hurried along the river in the direction she knew Wolf had to be going in. She was getting tired, but forced herself to keep going. Until she heard a boom resound through the forest that made the birds all around fly away with angry and frightened squawks. Virginia froze, looking around for what could have done that. A tree falling maybe? For some reason she recited in her mind that old question; if a tree falls in the wood and no one's around, does it make a sound?

Virginia scanned the top of the trees and saw a patch of them sway and jerk. Another boom sounded and another patch of trees swayed.

"That can not be good." she said to herself.

Virginia stood still, watching the trees when she noticed that the direction of whatever it was had changed. It was coming towards her! And fast!

Virginia started to back away. The booming got louder and the trees nearer to her jerked. She was so busy staring at the treetops that she didn't see the figure dart out of the trees and run towards the river. She did notice, though, when he jumped in, making a big splash.

"Wolf!" Virginia cried, running to the edge of the river and helping pull Wolf out.

"Virginia! Huff-puff, Virginia! What are you doing here? Nevermind, let's get out of here!" Wolf cried as the giant broke free of the tree line on the other side of the river.

Wolf scrambled to his feet. He kept a hold on Virginia's arm and ran on into the woods. Virginia ran after him, trying hard to keep up. Her mind whirled in confusion and insanely she thought that Wolf had left his tail out. She mentally slapped herself and screamed in her mind to get a hold of herself. She took a quick glance back at the giant. An actual giant! He was getting closer. And she didn't know about Wolf, but she couldn't run forever. He was going to catch them if they didn't do something quick.


	5. Chapter 5

-1Maive knew that her struggling was getting her nowhere, but she couldn't help it. She knew Tony and the two guards were in trouble. They needed her help! They didn't know what they were getting into!

Maive stared at the house, praying that her companions would come out again. She was staring so intently that she caught the movement at the side of the house. She squinted, looking closer and saw Tony disappear into the woods.

No. It couldn't be. He wasn't leaving her here! And what about the guards!

Maive tried to yell after him, but she couldn't it past the cloth in her mouth. She cursed silently, wishing Tony hadn't done this.

Maive calmed herself. She couldn't think if she was mad. She tried to figure out a solution. One came to her slowly.

Maive murmured a spell into the gag, a spell to call help. She didn't know if it would work, but it was the best she could do. She used all her gift in the spell, calling on all the powers she knew.

A fox poked its head out of a bush to her right. It sniffed cautiously, then slowly approached her. Maive remained motionless. The fox walked over and began to gnaw at the ropes tying her. Maive cried her silent thanks over and over. Praised be the Goddess!

The fox finished chewing threw the rope and backed up a few steps. Maive patted it carefully on the head with one hand while pulling out the gag with the other.

"Thank you, little friend." she said.

The fox flicked it's tail, then turned and disappeared into the bushes. Maive straightened. She crept up to the house carefully, chanting a concealing spell under her breath. She peeked in a window and saw the guards frozen and Marissa looming over her cauldron. She ducked out of view again, quickly assessing the situation. There was nothing she could do for the guards. But she could catch Tony.

Maive hurried away from the house and after Tony. Her father had been a hunter and had taught her a little about wood-lore and the like. She should be able to follow his trail as long as he didn't try to cover it. From what she saw so far, he hadn't even thought of it. Good. Maybe she could still catch him in time to fix everything.

Marissa sat down heavily in her old wooden chair. Magic could be tiring. She hadn't understood that at first when she was younger, but she had learned quickly that magic was like everything else. It depleted with use. She had used a lot of magic recently. It would take awhile to rejuvenate.

But she had to check on her wolves. She had already spied her servant in the 10th Kingdom. He was doing quite well, spreading strife and anger as he went. The 10th Kingdom would be the first to go. They had no great magic there to fight the spreading animosity. But they did have great weapons that she didn't understand, but knew could destroy that entire kingdom. No, it wasn't hard to corrupt a kingdom that was already corrupted.

The 2nd Kingdom would be next. That she could already feel. It, too, had been susceptible.

Now she must check on the wolves. They should have reached the rosebushes by now. She collected her strength and pushed herself up out of the chair and over to the cauldron. She wearily used her magic to find Wolf. The picture was a little hazy from her tiredness, but clear enough to show Wolf running from a giant. Alerted, the witch focused the picture, looking closer. Wolf had Virginia with him! And Cinnamon was nowhere to be seen. This was very bad.

Marissa looked closer at Wolf. Something glistened in his hand. She focused the picture farther. He had the rose! She had to keep him safe, but get him away from Virginia. She needed time. Time to think. Time to restore her magic. But she didn't have time.

She would just have to wait and watch and hope her Wolf made it out of it and his mate didn't.

"Wolf, I'm too tired. I can't run anymore." Virginia panted.

Wolf had temporarily thrown off the giant with quick changes in their path and by doubling back and the like. But Virginia could still hear him, stomping around close by.

Wolf glanced back at her and saw she really couldn't keep going. He stopped, releasing her arm. He, too, was panting, but nowhere near as hard as Virginia was.

Wolf's mind buzzed, trying to think of a solution to this problem. They could hide, but the giant might step on them or, if they ran again, would be close enough to catch them. They needed someplace that a giant couldn't get to.

"Huff-puff, but where?" Wolf cried out loud.

"Where what?" Virginia asked in between trying to catch her breath.

"Where can't the giant go."

Virginia thought quickly.

"Underground? Small caves?" she offered.

"Underground! But how do we get underground?" Wolf whined and began pacing.

"If that's truly where you wish to hide, simply find a tree marked X and climb inside."

The singing ring! Wolf and Virginia both stared at the ring, then both jumped and went quickly to the nearest trees.

"A tree marked X. A tree marked X. There's a million trees around here, how are we supposed to find…?" Wolf began as he bounded from tree to tree.

"I found it!" Virginia called.

Wolf ran up behind her and saw she had found a tree with an X carved in the trunk. The tree was huge, if Virginia and Wolf had joined hands, they still probably couldn't encircle it. But there was no obvious way inside.

"How do we get in?" Virginia asked.

"I don't know. Oh, cripes! The giant's coming back this way." Wolf began walking around the tree, running his hands over it, looking for some kind of secret knob of something.

Wolf pulled on a little twig and the tree opened. A part of the tree simply swung out.

"Virginia!" he called.

She was quickly at his side. But she didn't like the looks of the darkness inside.

"Is it safe?" she asked hesitantly.

"Safer than out here! Come on!" Wolf cried.

He climbed inside and Virginia followed slowly. The door snapped shut behind them.

The giant entered the clearing just as the door closed. He stomped around, but didn't see or hear any sign of the two he was following. He continued on, determined to find them.

"Woooooaaaaahhhh!" Virginia cried as her feet hit nothing and she fell.

She landed on her butt on something hard, then started sliding down. She leaned back, hoping the ceiling wasn't low. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her face, but she could hear Wolf ahead of her.

And then, just as suddenly, she was out of the tunnel or whatever it was and in some dim lighted place. Her momentum carried her off the slide and she landed right on top of Wolf. He grunted and tried to move out from under her.

Virginia blinked. Even the dim lights seemed bright compared to the darkness they had just left. Her eyes adjusted slowly, but when they did she saw that the light was from torches and that they were inside some kind of giant underground tunnel. She could hear voices far off, maybe in a different tunnel, but she couldn't see anyone. She felt Wolf trying to get to his feet and quickly got herself untangled from him.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Shhh." Wolf shushed her quickly. He looked around at their surroundings, sniffing and listening, "I think these are goblin tunnels. Maybe ogre. I haven't had the chance to smell either before, but from what I've heard, they're supposed to be a colony or something hidden underground, but since they don't surface for anything less than the end of our world, they have been mostly forgotten."

"Goblin? As in…" Virginia began in a whisper.

Wolf nodded, "Yes. Goblins are pretty nasty creatures, according to history. They mainly care about only two things: themselves and money. There have never been many of them because they fight and kill each other so often. They're not incredibly bright, but they're smart enough. If we can not run into any of them, that would be best."

And so of course we will, Virginia thought irritably. Whenever there's someone or something that we don't want to mess with, we always get mixed in with it anyway.

Virginia opened her mouth to tell Wolf as much, but he clamped a hand over it. He shook his head and drew her back into the shadows with him. She froze, trusting him. As she watched, five hideous looking creatures walked right past the small section of tunnel that they were in. She looked at Wolf, wondering if it was okay for him to drop his hand from her mouth yet. Her eyes got wide.

Wolf was trying desperately not to sneeze. He let go of Virginia and covered his mouth and nose with both hands. The goblin scent in such close quarters was too much for his nose. The smell was sending him into a sneezing and coughing fit, that he was trying to keep from coming. Goblin hearing was good. Maybe not as good as his, but very close. He could get them captured and killed if he couldn't keep this sneeze!

Virginia gestured at him. He could _not_ sneeze! Not right now. She was not being taken prisoner by goblins. No way.

Wolf couldn't hold it any longer. He sneezed, trying to cover the sound with his hands. This was followed by two more sneezes, but he managed to stop any more.

Wolf and Virginia both froze, waiting to see if the goblins had heard. Nothing happened.

Finally, they both decided that they hadn't been heard. Wolf sighed with relief. Virginia leaned into him, too exhausted to do much else. Wolf closed his eyes, smelling her scent, sniffing deeply, getting rid of the goblin smell in his nose.

There was a clanking noise. Wolf's eyes snapped open and Virginia found new energy to spin around. At least, ten goblins stood at the entrance of the tunnel, all with spears.

Tony was faster than Maive had ever thought possible. She had to hurry to keep him in sight. She was still trailing him, but staying far enough away that he didn't know she was.

At first, she had been about to go right up to him, demand an explanation, maybe yell at him a little. But there had been something wrong about him. Nothing physical that she could see, just a feeling she got from him. Her intuition told her that she shouldn't approach Tony right now. And as a witch, she had been taught to always listen to her intuition.

So for now, she was just following him. From the direction he was going, it looked like he was headed back to Wendell's Castle. Which would have made sense. Going for help. Except that, although Maive really didn't like Tony that much ( he was arrogant, bossy, and basically a jerk), she was sure he wouldn't have just left her there. After all, he had been one of the Four who saved the 9 Kingdoms.

Maive shook her head. She knew something was wrong. She just knew it. She just wasn't sure what it was or what it might do.

Cinnamon had stayed nearly unmoving for a long time now. The giant was far off now. She couldn't even hear the booming of its steps or the trees swaying with its passage. But still, she didn't move.

Finally, after a long debate with herself, Cinnamon got up. She looked around cautiously, wary of any other dangers that Wolf taking the rose might have caused.

Cinnamon dusted herself off and walked out from her hiding place. She sniffed. She could still smell Wolf here and the giant. But the smells were old, fading. She could follow Wolf's smell. But what if it took her to the giant? What if Wolf had been killed?

Cinnamon whimpered at the thought. She didn't like the images it brought up and she quickly quelled them.

But something told her she had to find Wolf. Had to. Even if it led her to the giant.

Cinnamon followed Wolf's scent all the time wondering how she, a lone wolf, set in her way of being a lone wolf, had gotten into all this.

Wolf and Virginia were forced through many passages before they came to a huge main chamber. Inside was a fortune's worth of gold and jewels. And a fat, ugly goblin with a sparkling golden crown on his head seated on a marble thrown.

Wolf and Virginia were prodded in the back, forced forward. Virginia tripped and fell to one knee. The goblins mistook the action for her bowing to their obvious ruler.

"Yes, puny human. Bow to King Runthlac." the king said in a heavily accented voice.

Wolf knelt to help Virginia up, but was kicked in the back and sent sprawling. The goblins snickered. Wolf growled. Then began sneezing fitfully again. The goblins stared at him and Virginia followed their gazes to Wolf's tail.

"Is a Wolf? Stupid animal. Coming down here. Very stupid." the king laughed.

The other goblins laughed, too, adding their own comments about Wolf's stupidity.

"What…what are you going to do with us?" Virginia asked and winced at how much that sounded like a line out of a cheap comic book.

The king thought that over. Then, grinned.

"We will torture the Wolf and make the human our slave." he announced.

Virginia almost groaned. These guys were as bad as the Trolls.

But the king wasn't finished, "First, we will starve the wolf and put him in a cage in the dining hall, then we'll cut off his tail, then we'll wait until the full moon and…" he paused for affect, "…we'll feed him the human!"

The goblins cheered. Wolf tried to jump to his feet. He was shoved down again. He pulled his tail and around and held it protectively. Virginia shook her head furiously, her eyes wide with horror.

But then, she remembered something. Wolf wasn't affected by the full moon anymore. Or he wasn't if that witch hadn't lied. Virginia didn't like relying on an evil witch. They had to get out of here.

Cinnamon's eyes flashed again and she growled low in her throat when she caught the girl's scent. She was as much hunting the girl now as tracking Wolf. Inwardly, she was afraid of what she might do when she found them. It was a full moon tomorrow night.

Cinnamon stopped. The scent was stronger here. But it didn't leave the area. Wherever they were now, they were here last.

Cinnamon searched the area until she found the tree where the two had disappeared. Here, their scents stepped. Cinnamon examined the tree. She didn't see any way for them to climb up.

She circled the tree slowly, they couldn't have disappeared into thin air. She examined the X on the tree very closely, but found nothing.

Cinnamon sighed and leaned back against the tree. She had no idea where they could have possibly gone.

Something clicked under Cinnamon's shoulder. She spun, stepping back to see a twig on the tree had moved and part of the tree swing open. It was pitch black inside. But Wolf and the girl's scents continued through there so Cinnamon stepped inside.

Wolf curled up on the bottom of his cage. He was above the ground ( whether that was to make it easier for him to see the food, make it harder for him to escape, or to put him at a better level to throw things at, he didn't know), swinging back and forth slightly in a steel cage. It was cold, especially on the sheet of metal that was the cage bottom. If he had been an actual wolf at the moment he would have curled up in a tight ball with his tail over his nose. As it was, he sat scrunched up, whining and whimpering quietly.

Wolf's whimpering turned to growls when he caught sight of the goblins shoving Virginia and making her do servant work. His growls turned into snarls when one of them struck her in the back with the butt of his spear and she was sent sprawling. Wolf wrapped his hands around the bars of his cage, clinging to them.

"Leave her alone!" he snapped.

One of the goblins threw a goblet at him, but it hit the bars of the cage and bounced away. Wolf growled some more.

Virginia heard him and looked up at him. Wolf looked at her and tried to apologize with his eyes. He was sorry for leading her down here. Virginia shook her head. She motioned for him to be quiet. She didn't want him to get hurt. Wolf was about to reply when Virginia was pushed out of the room. The minute she was out of his sight, Wolf returned to his whimpers and whines.

"Fine mess." Wolf said to himself, "Oh, huff-puff, I don't know how we're going to get out of here. This is bad. Oh, very bad, indeed."

Wendell nearly ran down the steps to the courtyard when he heard that Anthony had returned. He stopped and composed himself before going out to meet him.

"Anthony! You're back! Did all go well? What happened?" Wendell demanded.

Anthony just stared at him a little blankly.

"All went well," he agreed finally, "The witch is dead."

"And Wolf and Virginia?" Wendell pressed, so excited he didn't notice Tony's behavior.

"They're still missing, but I'm sure they'll be alright now. They're probably on their way back now."

"Oh, splendid! Come, Anthony. I'm sure you're tired and hungry." Wendell said, beginning to lead Tony off into the castle. He stopped suddenly when he remembered something, "But where are the two guards and the witch that went with you?"

"The witch left as soon as the evil one was killed. The guards went home. I told them to take a couple days off." Tony responded.

"Oh. Good then! Let's go. You will have to tell me all about what happened…"

"I would rather like to rest, your majesty." Tony said woodenly.

"Of course. Go ahead then, Anthony." Wendell said.

He stared after Tony a little shocked.

"Anthony never calls me 'your majesty'. Except when he's sarcastic." Wendell paused, "Oh, I sure hope it's just because he's very tired. I don't have time to deal with another horrible disaster."

Maive stayed on the edge of the woods around the castle. She was pretty sure she had it figured out. Tony was under a spell. That would explain her feeling. And why he left without her to return to Wendell's castle. He was spying for Marissa. This, too, made sense. This way she wouldn't have to use as much magic on scrying. She could simply use a link to Tony and find out what had happened or was happening.

But that still left Wolf and Virginia. Maive had had another vision and knew that they were together again, but that they were in worse trouble than before. She also knew that Wolf had the rose.

"A choice, Maive. Make a choice. The greater good. Tony and Wendell, who are right here. Or Wolf and Virginia who are Goddess knows where and in terrible danger." Maive heaved a big sigh, "Oh, Maive. You know you're going to go to Wolf and Virginia. And use the teleporting spell that you were specifically told not to use because you're too ill experienced. But you have to stop Wolf from giving Marissa the rose. That is what you're going to do and it has nothing whatsoever to do with you wanting to meet Wolf and Virginia. Yeah, right."

Maive stopped trying to lie to herself and instead concentrated on the teleporting spell. She was going to need something that she could focus on. Something magic. The golden rose, of course. Which meant that she would need roses for this spell.

Maive moved off from her resting-place and towards the royal gardens. There would be roses there.

Cinnamon slid down the tunnel, yelping in surprise when she fell. She hit the ground with a thud and quickly checked out her surroundings.

"Only goblins could have a smell like that." Cinnamon said out loud, stifling the urge to sneeze.

But she also smelled Wolf and the girl. Their scents mixed with the goblins. They had been captured.

For some reason this gave Cinnamon a wave of relief followed by a horrible dread. She had to get Wolf out of here! She completely forgot the girl and concentrated instead on how she was going to get Wolf and herself out with both their skins.

Cinnamon finally decided that her best strategy would be stealth and surprise. If she could sneak in, then grab Wolf, they might have just enough time to…

To what? How was she going to get out of this place? She needed to find a way out first.

Cinnamon used her nose, trying to find the smell of fresh air. These goblins very rarely surfaced, if the stories were true, but they had to have an exit somewhere. They had to be able to go get food and the like, hadn't they? Of course, they had. She just had to find it.

Virginia tried to keep her temper in check. She wanted so bad to turn around and punch these stupid goblins. If one more goblin commented on "puny humans" or made her fall down on her face and laughed at her, she was going to scream.

But she knew she had to do whatever they wanted. She needed to stay alive long enough to find a way out of here. She was no help to herself or Wolf if she was dead. And it wasn't just her she had to think about! She had her cu….baby to think about, too.

Great. Now I'm calling it a cub, Virginia thought to herself as she began sweeping with the crude broom that was thrust in her hand. It was pointless since they were underground and the floor was dirt, but she didn't object.

Virginia suppressed her anxieties about the baby. Now was not the time. Now was the time to keep a clear head and tried to make the best of her situation.

Virginia watched to see if she could find an exit. Goblins passed by, heading to other places along tunnels that crossed this one. Some headed one way with food and supplies. Others headed in the opposite directions with empty baskets.

There must be a way out that way, Virginia thought to herself. But how could she be sure? There could be an exit around the corner or a mile down the tunnel. There might be a million twists and turns in between. She might never find the way out.

But if she could somehow free Wolf, she was sure he would be able to. But how to do that?

Wolf had fallen asleep. He had no idea how he could have done that. But somehow he had accomplished it. When he woke, in a cold sweat from bad dreams, he had no idea how much time had passed. His internal clock told him that it was night.

Wolf's stomach growled almost as loud as he had earlier. He hadn't eaten since that morning with Cinnamon.

Cinnamon! What had happened to her? He had forgotten. It seemed like such a long time ago that he had been traveling with her, looking for the golden roses. He wondered if she was looking for him. He wondered if the giant was still out there looking as well.

Wolf hated this cage. It was not right to put a Wolf in a cage. It just wasn't right.

The goblins were eating. They tore apart pieces of meat almost as ravenously as a he did on the full moon. Wolf began to drool as he watched and his stomach growled again. Oh, he wanted some of that meat. He _needed_ that meat. He…

No! He was in control. He was okay. They wouldn't get anything out of him! No, siree!

Wolf sneezed again. The goblin smell was overwhelming his sense of smell. He had sneezed too may times to count already. He wished Virginia was there, her wonderful smell permeating the air.

Stop whining, Wolf. Something will work out. Something has to. It just has to.

Maive concentrated all her energy into the spell, using her entire gift. This was going to take all the magic she possessed. She glanced up at the nearly full moon briefly. Maybe she should wait one night for the full moon.

The thought froze her. Maybe she _should_ wait. Her teacher had always said to wait for auspicious times for magic if it was at all possible. Especially hard magic. Maybe she should wait for the full moon and spend today trying to help Tony.

Maive was so busy debating that she didn't notice the guards coming near her. She was hiding inside the garden near the rose bushes that she had relieved of a couple of blossoms.

Maive jumped at the sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath. She spun and the first thing she saw was a steel sword pointed at her.

"What are you doing in King Wendell's royal gardens?" the guard demanded.

Maive tried to handle the situation as coolly as the first time Wendell's guards had pointed swords at her.

"I'm trying to do a spell, you mind?" she replied.

The guard didn't seem to like her answer. She changed her approach.

"Forget it. I need to speak with King Wendell. Right away." she added, seeing the guards' doubtful expressions. Maive sighed in exasperation, "Just ask him. He'll know who I am. Tell him I must speak to him privately and that it's very important."

The guards glanced at each other. The leader of the two nodded to the other and he hurried off, back towards the castle. The other sheathed his sword, but stayed with Maive.

"Come with me, then, witch." he said and Maive could hear the infliction in his voice when he said witch.

Maive dismissed it and followed the guard into the castle, putting the roses into her pouch. She could make them into components for the spell and get some more fresh roses later, as well. Hopefully she could convince Wendell of the danger he was in.

Cinnamon thought she was getting closer to a way out. But the closer she got the more her nose got confused with the goblin smells. Luckily she hadn't come in close quarters with any and she was able to hold back the sneezes that wanted to come and would surely get her caught. She could hear them moving around in the tunnels near her and carefully timed her movements to avoid them. It was almost like moving through enemy territory, but also like hunting. If she dropped the human part of her and let the wolf take over, she could move from shadow to shadow without even making a sound.

Finally, the smell of fresh air got strong enough that Cinnamon could inhale it deeply without being afraid of getting too much goblin scent in her nose. She peeked around a corner to see a door down the tunnel about thirty feet away. She ducked back out of sight when three goblins entered and disappeared down another tunnel.

She had found the way out. Good. Now she needed to make sure she could find it again.

Cinnamon picked up a small stone off the ground and made a quick scratch on the wall to mark the spot. She checked to make sure no one had heard, then continued back the way she had come, making marks at every intersection in the tunnels. When she reached where she had started from, she tried to pick up Wolf's scent again. It was very faint, hard to detect under the goblin smells. Cinnamon had to strain to find it. But when she did, she followed it, careful to keep her guard up.

Cinnamon could hear commotion. She froze, glancing swiftly into the large chamber where the noise was coming from. In her quick glance she assessed the situation. There was a long table stretched across the chamber, gold and silver treasures scattered about. Goblins were all over the room, sleeping on and under the table, eating, and throwing things at the cage over the table. In the cage was Wolf.

Cinnamon growled inwardly. Putting a wolf in a cage. He must be going crazy in there. No room to bound. No doubt they hadn't given him a scrap of food or a drop of water either. Poor Wolf.

Cinnamon was filled with a growing rage. If it had been a full moon, she probably would have run in there and tried to rip the goblins to shreds. As it was, she was able to concentrate her rage into thinking up a plan.

There's was only one thing Cinnamon could think to do. She hoped that the stories were right and that the goblins weren't too smart and that their greed was as huge as it was said to be. If it wasn't, she would be as bad off as Wolf. She tucked in her tail and made herself presentable. She did not want them to know she was a wolf.

Cinnamon bounded into the hall, landing gracefully in the entrance. She waited patiently to be noticed. She glanced once, cautiously, at Wolf. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth in a big O of surprise. He shook his head furiously at her. Cinnamon ignored him. She cleared her throat noisily, trying to get some attention.

It worked. The goblins all around the room turned to stare at her.

"Excuse me. I was told that there was one here who would be interested in the greatest treasure in all the 9 Kingdoms. Did I mistakenly come to the wrong place?" she asked in a sweet, convincing voice.

The goblins all immediately came closer and their eyes widened ( if that were possible since they had huge eyes).

"You'z at right place." one said.

"Yeah." others agreed.

"Oh, good. I do hate it when I get the wrong address. Now, who is it that I am supposed to speak with on this?" Cinnamon asked, using her most aristocratic voice.

The goblins immediately broke into a roar of noise, all claiming to be the person she was seeking. Then, they broke into a fight. Cinnamon took the opportunity to glance at Wolf again. He looked shocked. She motioned with her head and mouthed for him to do something.

"What you looking at?" one of the goblins asked suspiciously, glancing in the direction she had been looking.

"Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering if that's a real wolf that you have up there." Cinnamon asked, quickly covering her tracks.

"Yes. Yes. We're going to torture hims." another goblin announced like a little child excited over a great achievement.

Cinnamon went with it.

"Well, well. You must be great warriors. I hear it's very hard to catch wolves." Cinnamon moved closer to Wolf's cage, as if to get a better look at the captive, "Filthy animals. Frankly, I think we should cage them all."

Cinnamon put just enough vehemence in her voice that it sounded convincing even to herself. She inwardly winced at the statement. Wolf's shocked look hadn't changed. If anything it had gotten even worse.

"But." Cinnamon continued quickly, turning back to her audience, "I'm not here to talk about animals. I'm here to talk treasure. Is one of you the leader around here?"

This question brought silence over all the little monsters. Cinnamon cocked her head and raised one eyebrow.

"No? Well, then. Perhaps one of you could direct me to him. I would be glad to repay whoever would do me the service." Cinnamon said although she had no idea what she would repay them with.

There was a scramble to be the one to guide her and another fight broke out. Cinnamon glanced up at Wolf one more time. He finally seemed to have caught on, though he still looked surprised and doubtful. He reached in his pocket and removed something. He scooted backwards, hiding whatever it was behind his back, then dropping it through the bars. Cinnamon caught it quickly. It was the golden rose! She quickly hid it in her clothes.

"Come now, haven't we reached a decision yet?" Cinnamon asked impatiently. She pointed to a goblin quickly, one who looked dumber than the others did, "You. You will escort me, will you not? Good. Let's be off."

The goblin almost beamed with pride at being chosen and strutted past the others. For his efforts, he got a plate thrown at him that hit him in the back of the head. He would have turned around and fought again if Cinnamon hadn't grabbed his arm and forced him ahead.

Unfortunately, this got her a whiff-full of goblin smell. Cinnamon sneezed loudly, then sneezed again. She yanked out a cloth and covered her nose. She blew, trying to get all the smell out. She saw the goblin staring at her.

"Terrible allergies, I'm afraid. The underground air is making them act up. Very sorry." Cinnamon said, improvising quickly.

She hesitated, sure the goblin wouldn't buy it. But he did! Cinnamon silently thanked whatever stroke of luck had gotten her past that near disaster.

Cinnamon followed the goblin, staying a good distance away and breathing through her mouth only. She was led into another chamber, this one spilling over with gold, jewels, and other artifacts that were priced higher than anything Cinnamon had ever laid eyes on before. She resisted the urge to steal something, but then realized she'd have to. She had promised a reward to this miniature troll.

Cinnamon edged to the side a little and snatched up a golden gauntlet. She took a few steps forward, as if to approach the goblin ruler, then turned back to her guide as if she had just remembered him.

"Here. Take this for your trouble. Thank you for your assistance. " she said and handed it to him.

Cinnamon saw the goblin king, or whatever he was, narrow his eyes suspiciously and quickly stepped up to distract him.

"You are very rich indeed, your majesty." Cinnamon commented, her eyes roaming the room.

Cinnamon quickly dimmed the glint coming into them and distracted herself, by focusing on the fat monstrosity that sat on the marble throne.

"Perhaps you won't be interested in what I've come to offer you." she said.

She could see curiosity come over the goblin followed on swift feet by greed.

"What's that, human weakling?" he demanded.

Cinnamon roamed the room carelessly, taking her time in answering. She touched a jade figurine and had to snatch her hand back. The statue could have gotten her all the supplies she'd need for ten years. She spun to face the goblin king.

"Just the greatest treasure in the kingdoms." she said conversationally.

She raised her eyebrows. She would have added a little flash of her eyes, but was worried that it would just give her away instead of help the situation.

The goblin scooted forward on his throne. The guards on either side of him glanced at each other and stared at her expectantly.

"I happen to possess a treasure that is unattainable by any, but a very select few. A treasure that hasn't been touched by mortal hands since the death of Gretel the Great. A treasure that I am sure you will never see the likes of again. Interested?" Cinnamon asked.

The goblin was about to nod, but stopped and leaned back. He glanced at her suspiciously and touched a grimy finger to his jaw as he thought. He scratched at a wart on his face and seemed to be trying to figure something out. Cinnamon could almost see the wheels turning ever so slowly.

"What in it for you?" he asked finally.

"Me?" Cinnamon stumbled, but quickly caught herself. She straightened, "I think there must be something of yours that sparks my interest. Perhaps a trinket of yours?"

Cinnamon's eyes flicked back across the room, then focused on the goblin again.

"Or maybe…I've always wanted to get back at one of those nasty wolves. Torture him a little. Wave some steaks in front of his face. Maybe you would trade. An artifact of your choice and that grubby wolf for the one of a kind, truly remarkable gift I have for you?" Cinnamon suggested.

The goblin thought for another long period of time. Cinnamon was getting very anxious. She wrung her hands, waiting for an answer.

"We'z were looking forward to torturing him usselves. We'z were going to chop off him tail." the goblin paused, as if waiting for Cinnamon to comment.

"Oh, wonderful idea!" Cinnamon agreed, resisting the urge to touch her tail at the thought, "But I'm sure that once you see what I have to offer, you will agree that I am being more than fair."

The goblin paused again and Cinnamon began wringing her hands even more furiously. She couldn't stand this waiting!

"Let's a see it." he said, making Cinnamon jump.

Cinnamon reached in her pocket and whipped out the rose with a flourish. She blocked it from the goblin's view with one hand and held it close in front of her face.

"What I have here is one of the infamous magic golden roses from Gretel's bushes. They have been guarded for nearly two centuries by dark spirits, unreachable to all who tried for them. But one." Cinnamon slowly lowered her hand dramatically, "Many have died trying for these beauties. Very powerful magic, as I'm sure you know."

The goblin seemed transfixed by the rose. He nodded absently to Cinnamon. He reached out to take the blossom, but Cinnamon snapped it away.

"First, I would like my payment, if you please. It's only fair and proper. Ladies first, you know." Cinnamon said.

The goblin seemed to want to think about that, but he could see Cinnamon was ready to leave and was afraid that meant with the rose.

"Alright. Get's the wolf!" he commanded his guards.

Five guards went off to get Wolf, leaving another four in the room.

"Don't forget the other part of the deal." Cinnamon reminded him and was afraid for a moment she had pushed it too far.

But the goblin didn't seem to notice. He understood greed.

"Of my choice." he said, reminding himself.

He scanned the room carefully. Cinnamon could see it was a hard decision for him, parting with one of his treasures.

"If I may make a suggestion?" Cinnamon stepped up quickly.

The goblin looked at her. Cinnamon quickly looked over everything, looking for something that he would part with without too much grief.

"That necklace." Cinnamon said, finally, pointing.

The goblin king examined it, then shrugged.

"Take then. Ah, here is wolf for you, too. Now give the rose." he commanded.

Cinnamon spun to see Wolf being forced in the room with spears points at his back and throat. He was sneezing fitfully. He froze when he saw Cinnamon. He opened his mouth to say something, but Cinnamon shook her head ever so slightly.

"Oh, good." Cinnamon said, approaching Wolf slowly.

She stayed a distance away from Wolf, as if trying to stay a safe distance from a dangerous animal. She stepped forward quickly and slapped him, then stepped back again. She shoved down the need to sneeze at being so close to the goblin guards.

"Filthy beast." she snapped.

Wolf stared at her speechlessly. He resisted the urge to touch his stinging cheek.

"Could you tie his hands or something? Make sure he's safe." Cinnamon suggested.

"Do it!" the goblin king commanded the guards.

They quickly set about doing as was requested. Wolf growled angrily, but did nothing. He watched Cinnamon closely. She could feel him watching her even when she wasn't looking at him. She quickly picked up the silver and jeweled necklace and pocketed it. She turned back to the king after a momentary pause.

"A treasure such as the one I give you should have a place of honor." she scanned the room, "There. On that gold pedestal. I will place it there for you."

Before he could object, Cinnamon set the golden object down on the pedestal in the corner, flinging the piece on the pedestal down into the piles of gold. She carefully placed a crystal box over the small golden artifact, then quickly began backing away.

"It's was wonderful doing business with you, your majesty. I must be going, I'm in quite a hurry. Thank you." Cinnamon said.

She turned, grabbed Wolf by the rope that was tied around his hands, and hurried from the room. The goblins backed off, unsure of what to do.

Cinnamon and Wolf were well down the tunnels toward the exit when they heard a loud bellow from the throne chamber.

"Uh oh." Cinnamon said, breaking into a run and dragging Wolf after her.

Wolf had been gagged and couldn't reply. For some reason he seemed almost reluctant to go, but didn't have much of a choice with Cinnamon pulling him along.

Both wolves could hear the goblins running after them. The noise got Wolf running faster with Cinnamon leading him through the passages. She finally reached the door, throwing it open and running out. Wolf came out after her. Cinnamon slammed the door shut. The door was set sideways in a grassy hill, disguised as just a piece of the scenery. She fell back on the door, yanking Wolf down, too. It wasn't long before they felt the goblins pounding on the door beneath them.

Cinnamon reached over and pulled the gag out of Wolf's mouth. She smiled slightly.

"you're welcome." she said.

"What? Oh! We have to go back." Wolf said.

Cinnamon stared at him.

"Are you out of your mind!" she yelled at him.

"But…Virginia's still back there! I have to go save her." Wolf said.

"Virginia? Not her again. Wait a minute! Virginia's the girl? Oh…cripes!" Cinnamon cried after failing to think of another word.

Wolf looked at her, confused.

"Nothing." Cinnamon said quickly, shaking her head, "I can not go back there. You can't either! They'll slaughter us! They were going to chop off your tail!"

"I know! But I don't have a choice. I have to save Virginia, end of discussion." Wolf declared.

Cinnamon sighed a very long sigh. She paused a moment.

"We need to block this door." she said finally.

Wolf smiled, glad he had her help. He looked around for something they could block the door with. Meanwhile, his mind went over what had just happened.

"I can't believe you slapped me." he commented, "And what exactly did you put on that pedestal?"

"Just a little piece of gold that he already owned. I knew we couldn't loose the rose, so I had to trick him. And I had to slap you. I needed to convince them that everything I said was true."

Wolf wanted to ask her what exactly she had said. Instead he pointed to a large log.

"Can you hold this while I drag that log over?" he asked.

Cinnamon nodded and braced herself to hold down the door. Wolf ran over to the log and dragged it over as fast as he could. Cinnamon jumped out of the way, quickly pulling over more rocks and objects to keep the door closed. Once they were sure that it was barred down good, Cinnamon collapsed on the ground again and Wolf began pacing.

"You have a plan?" Cinnamon asked, following him back and forth with her eyes.

"Yes. No. Maybe." Wolf growled in frustration, "I can't think! I'm too hungry."

"Then, eat something. Amazing Virginia can take care of herself for a little while, can't she?" Cinnamon asked bitterly.

Wolf glanced at her briefly. He didn't stop pacing.

"What do _you_ think?" he asked.

Cinnamon acted surprised.

"Me? You're asking me? I think we should forget her and get out of here. But you can't do that."

"Why do you hate Virginia so much? You've never even met her." Wolf asked.

Cinnamon couldn't answer that. Not that she didn't have an answer. It was just one that she couldn't tell Wolf. She got up and turned away from Wolf.

"We should go now if you want to rescue her. They're probably all on this side, trying to get out here. We can go back around and sneak in and get her." Cinnamon said quietly.

Wolf jumped.

"Cripes! That's a great plan. Come on, let's go!" Wolf cried as he bounded off.

Cinnamon followed after him slowly. She was going to regret this. Sooner than later.


	6. Chapter 6

-1Virginia was astounded at the treasures hidden in the goblins underground world. She was dusting with goblins hanging around close by. They had told her that if she touched anything they would cut off her hand. She was careful to only touch the objects with the duster.

Suddenly, there was a shout from somewhere in another tunnel. Virginia couldn't make out what was said, it was too far away. But evidently the goblins could. They forgot her and ran off. Virginia looked after them, dumbfounded. Then, she quickly ran to find Wolf and get out of there.

Virginia managed to find her way back to the large chamber. It seemed all the tunnels led there.

But Wolf was gone!

"Where is he!" Virginia demanded.

She searched frantically for some sign of where he had gone. She knew he wouldn't have left without her. Something must have happened. She could see he had been let out of the cage. It was on the ground, the door open. She could see where he had dragged his feet and fought the people holding him. She could picture him growling and struggling in the middle of a group of goblins.

Virginia was getting some very bad ideas. No! He had to be okay! She couldn't accept that anything could have happened to him.

Virginia was beginning to panic. She had to find Wolf. He had to be okay. If he wasn't…

Virginia began to hyperventilate. She forced herself to be still and calm down. She breathed deeply, trying to think of a logical explanation that would allow Wolf being okay. Virginia could barely think, she was so distressed.

"I have to do something." she said to herself finally.

Virginia headed back towards the slide that they had come in on. She didn't know why, she couldn't get out that way. But it was the only place she could think to go. She was just around the corner from it when she heard voices. She stopped, pressing herself back against the wall. She listened closely.

"I'll be back as quickly as I can!"

"Wolf!" Virginia cried, running into the room.

Wolf turned from the slide, surprised to see Virginia. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. Wolf returned her embrace.

"I thought they had killed you or something." Virginia said, choking with relief.

"Not quite. Thanks to Cinnamon. She got me out and figured out how to save you. Now let's hurry before the goblins come back." Wolf said.

He turned and Virginia saw that there was a rope lying at the bottom of the slide. Wolf picked up the end and handed it to her.

"Cinnamon's at the top. I'll be right behind you." he promised.

Virginia nodded. She took the rope and started to climb up. Soon, it was too dark to see, but she was reassured by the sound of Wolf's breathing behind her.

Virginia slipped and nearly fell all the way back down. Wolf caught her, bracing himself against the walls. He pushed her back up. Virginia took a firm hold of the rope and resumed her climbing. After a short time, she noticed the darkness lightening. A few seconds later, she emerged into the open air. It was still night, but it was getting lighter.

Cinnamon was at the other end of the rope. When Virginia saw her, she nearly fell back down the tunnel. Cinnamon growled at her and her eyes flashed dangerously. Virginia scrambled out of the tunnel and to her feet. She began backing away from the wolf, slowly.

Wolf crawled out after Virginia. He looked around and saw what was happening.

"Cinnamon! What are you doing?" he demanded.

Wolf hurried out of the tunnel and jumped in between the two.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. All I know is that she tried to kill me twice before!" Virginia accused, pointing past him at Cinnamon.

Wolf looked at Cinnamon. She didn't look at him, but kept growling past him at Virginia.

"It's true, isn't it?" Wolf demanded, "Cinnamon, why?"

The question jolted Cinnamon momentarily back to herself. She glanced from Wolf to Virginia, confused.

"I don't know. Her scent, she….it makes me angry. It makes me want to hunt her and rip out her throat. I…" Cinnamon shivered and began growling again.

Virginia touched a hand to her throat and stumbled backwards a few steps. She couldn't understand how someone that had helped Wolf so much and that she had just met could hate her so much.

"What did I do?" Virginia managed to ask.

"Nothing, Virginia. You didn't do anything." Wolf assured her.

Cinnamon took a few steps towards Virginia, circling to the left. Wolf moved to keep himself between her and Virginia, putting his arms out. Cinnamon bared her teeth at him for interfering.

"Wait! Cripes, Cinnamon! What if it's a spell?" Wolf cried suddenly, "That explains it. All of it. That witch is using us! She's probably the one who made you answer me in the first place."

Cinnamon stopped again.

"The witch? She…" Cinnamon said, beginning to see past the spell. Cinnamon never got to finish the sentence. Her eyes flashed brilliantly and she fell to the ground, "Ow! Ow!"

Cinnamon started screaming with pain. She curled up in a ball, holding herself and shaking with pain.

Wolf approached her slowly. He knelt next to her. He touched her arm, but she flinched as if his touch burned.

"Cinnamon? Can you hear me? What's happening? Cinnamon, I don't know how to help you." Wolf glanced back at Virginia, then down at Cinnamon again, "Cinnamon. Huff-puff, I can't fight what's not here."

Virginia came up behind Wolf and knelt next to him. She looked at Cinnamon. She _had_ been under a spell. This must be the witch's doing. But how could they stop it?

"Cinnamon, I don't know how to thank you for helping Wolf. And most likely keeping him out of more trouble. We want to help you. But we don't know how to. You have to help us help you." Virginia said.

"B…break the spell on Wolf." Cinnamon said, and it was obvious how hard it was to get the words out.

Somehow through her connection with the witch, Cinnamon was able to know this much. Virginia could break the spell on Wolf. If she could free him of his spell, at least one of the spells on her would dissolve. And the witch's hold would be weaker. She hoped.

"Wolf?" Virginia asked, looking at him.

Wolf looked confused for a moment before he figured out what Cinnamon meant. He just wished he didn't have to tell this to Virginia.

"There was…is a spell on me that makes me…well…" Wolf hesitated, unsure how he could tell Virginia this.

"Wolf, spit it out. She's in pain." Virginia said impatiently.

"I had feelings for Cinnamon." Wolf blurted.

Virginia stared at him. Wolf could tell she was about to get angry with him and quickly continued.

"It's a spell. Cinnamon thinks you can break it. But, huff-puff. I don't…" Wolf was cut off abruptly when Virginia leaned over and kissed him.

Virginia leaned over, putting a hand on Wolf's face. His eyes flashed and she pulled away.

"Cripes." Wolf breathed. Then, put a hand to his head, "Woah. I think that was the spell breaking."

The two both looked at Cinnamon. She had stopped shaking and had placed her hands on either side of her head. Her eyes were glowing brightly.

"Cinnamon?" Wolf asked, but she couldn't hear him, "What do we do?"

"I think," Virginia said quietly, "That we wait."

Wolf made a short whimper, but sat back on the ground, glancing from Virginia to Cinnamon. He finally let his gaze rest on Virginia.

"I do love you. No spell could change that." he said, just to make sure she knew.

"I know. And I know that you care about Cinnamon. But as a friend. I don't know how you two ended up together, but I can tell you've been through some adventures of your own. And we are going to stay here until she's better, okay?" Virginia finished.

Wolf nodded and glanced at Cinnamon once more. He really did want her to be alright.

"_You cannot get free of me, little she-wolf. You are mine."_ it was the witch's voice.

Cinnamon growled at the voice.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled.

"_Oh, no. You have a job to do. And you will do it! You may have helped them break the spell, but Wolf owes me a debt. And you are still mine. You will make sure he brings me the rose."_

"No! I'm not doing anything for you! Go away!" Cinnamon snapped.

"_You are a greedy little wolf. Even when saving your friends, you thought of yourself and how you could profit. Does that sound like the mark of a true hero?"_

"That's…" Cinnamon wanted to say it wasn't true, but it was.

"_Bring me the rose, and I will free you. That is all you have to do. If you do not, I will make sure your life is a living nightmare! I will make you hurt your friends. I will make you feel pain like you've never known. Understand, my pet? You are on my leash. If you want to be free, you must do as I command."_ the witch ordered.

Cinnamon wanted this to just be over. She shouldn't even be in this mess. She shouldn't. Wolf would understand. She would just make sure that the rose got to the witch and then she could go home and forget all this.

"O..okay." Cinnamon said shakily.

"_Good." _

With that, Cinnamon could feel the witch was gone. She was alone again.

Cinnamon stirred. Immediately, Wolf and Virginia went to her. Cinnamon slowly opened her eyes.

"What? Where…?" she asked, confused.

"Cinnamon. It's me, Wolf. Are you okay? What's the last thing you remember?" Wolf asked.

Cinnamon sat up slowly and looked around.

"I remember following your scent to a big tree. That's the last thing." Cinnamon said.

"You rescued us from the goblins, Cinnamon. And then you helped us break the spell that was on me." Wolf informed her.

Cinnamon shook herself. She slowly began to remember what had happened. She looked over at Virginia.

"I'm sorry." she said.

Virginia nodded. She shook hands with Cinnamon slowly. Cinnamon smiled at her shakily.

All three jumped as a loud boom resounded through the forest.

"Huff-puff! They've broken through! Let's get out of here!" Wolf cried, pulling Virginia, then Cinnamon to their feet.

The three hurried off into the woods before the goblins could catch up to them.

Maive rocked back and forth on her boots impatiently. Where was Wendell? His life was in danger and he couldn't even hurry to hear it?

The door to the room banged open and Maive jumped about a foot in the air. She turned to see Wendell storming into the room and closing the doors firmly behind him.

"What is the meaning of this? Why were you doing spells, hidden in my garden? If you are trying in any way to harm…" Wendell began furiously.

"King Wendell! Your majesty, you have it all wrong. I am trying to help you. I know that you don't trust me. But I'm not the one who you should be worried about. I came to warn you. You are in great danger." Maive said.

Wendell eyed her dubiously. He had believed her before, but that didn't make her trustworthy.

"And who should I be worried about?" Wendell demanded.

"Tony." Maive said.

Wendell turned away from her in disgust. Maive hurried after him.

"I know you don't believe me. You trust Tony. He's your best friend as far as I know. But I'm telling the truth. Tell me he hasn't seemed strange lately." Maive challenged, "Tell me he hasn't done anything he normally doesn't do."

Wendell stopped. He couldn't.

"Maybe Anthony has been a little off, but he is very tired. He said that you had taken off right after the witch was defeated. Why are you here now?" Wendell asked, more calmly.

"Because Tony lied. Marissa was not defeated. She put a spell on Tony. He's her spy now, her servant. The guards are frozen in her cottage. You mustn't do anything around Tony that could help Marissa. It is very important. Wolf has the rose. If he delivers it to her, she will come after you first. I'm going to try to reach Wolf and Virginia tonight. Your help would be much appreciated." Maive finished slowly.

Wendell looked at Maive silently. She met his gaze bravely. She was telling the truth! She had nothing to hide from him.

"Alright. I'm not sure if I believe you, but I will be careful. And you will have my help in whatever magic you are going to try to reach Wolf and Virginia. But if you are lying, witch, and I find out you have done anything to my friends, I assure you that you will pay dearly for it." Wendell said with dead seriousness.

Maive bowed her head ever so slightly. She understood.

Cinnamon bounded ahead of Wolf and Virginia, giving them (and herself) some privacy. Wolf and Virginia kept glancing at each other and smiling. Wolf finally wrapped his arm around Virginia as they walked slowly after Cinnamon.

Virginia glanced up at Wolf again.

"Her name is Cinnamon?" she asked quietly.

"Shush. My name is Wolf. Names aren't important." Wolf said.

"And I thought you had a funny name." Virginia teased.

"You did, did you?" Wolf replied.

"At first. But now I think any other name wouldn't fit you. You are Wolf." Virginia said truthfully.

Wolf made a soft whine and rubbed his face against hers. Virginia smiled and messed up his hair.

"Where are we going now, anyway?" she asked.

Wolf looked around, "We're headed back the way we came."

"That's good. I want to go home and relax. We come hear for our wedding and look what happens." she said, waving an arm to encompass the entire 9 Kingdoms.

"Huff-puff, technically we never finished our honeymoon. Want to play hide-and-seek?" Wolf asked quickly.

"Wolf! Cinnamon's right there. There are goblins behind us somewhere. Who knows if that giant's still wandering about." Virginia began.

"Oh, fine." Wolf relented. He sniffed at Virginia's hair, "You have the best smell. So much better than those goblins. I don't think I've ever sneezed that much in my life."

"Thanks."

"No, I mean it. I love your scent. From the very first time I smelled you, I…" Wolf started.

"Wolf." Virginia interrupted, "I am never going to get used to they way you say that."

Wolf looked at her, confused.

"What?"

"Nevermind." Virginia said, shaking her head and laughing softly, "I'm just glad we're together again."

"Oh, huff! Me, too!" Wolf agreed.

Cinnamon paused at the sign that signaled the border of the kingdom. She had never left the 5th Kingdom before. Oh, well. There was a first time for everything.

She had stayed away from Wolf and Virginia, barely uttering two words in the past couple days. She had slept a good distance away from them, giving them as much privacy as possible. She didn't want to be too far, she knew the dangers of these woods better than either of them. She just wanted to be done with this and go back to her life. Her life of being alone in the deep woods, never hearing a word except for the gossip of passing hunters. A lone wolf.

Above all else, Cinnamon hated being sorry for herself. She sometimes lapsed into self-pity and ended up furious with herself for doing so. She growled at herself now. She was starting into it again.

Cinnamon stuck her hands deep in her pockets. One hand touched something hard. Surprised, she drew it out of her pocket. It was a beautiful necklace, worth a small fortune most likely. She had forgotten about it. The way it sparkled made Cinnamon's eyes reflect with a glint of their own.

Cinnamon shoved it back in her pocket. No! She would not do that anymore. There was a lot about her that Wolf and Virginia didn't know. Things that she wouldn't tell them, things she was ashamed of, things she knew might make them turn against her.

She was now in the 4th Kingdom. Wendell's kingdom. Where all wolves had been pardoned. Where they didn't have to hide from the passing humans for fear of being shot on sight. What a wonderful thing to have happened! Cinnamon tried to imagine how different her life would be if she had been raised in a kingdom like that. It was beyond her.

Cinnamon concentrated instead on what she was going to do about the golden rose. Wolf seemed to have forgotten it. He had never mentioned it or asked for it. She still carried it inside her clothes, in her vest pocket. Wolf would never go near the witch's place. Virginia would never let him. She would have to deliver it herself. She might as well leave now.

Cinnamon stopped and turned. She waited patiently for Wolf and Virginia to catch up.

"I have to leave now." she said.

"What? Why?" Virginia asked.

Cinnamon shook her head. She was so tired. Sleep just made her more tired. She needed this to be done. Needed it.

"I just have to. You don't need me anymore. I wish you well." she said and turned to disappear into the woods off the path.

An arm snapped out and gripped her elbow, stopping her. Cinnamon followed it back to the owner. Wolf.

"What's wrong with you, Cinnamon?" he asked, "I mean, huff-puff, you haven't even said two words these past few days. Did we do something? Is it the spell?"

Cinnamon shook her head again.

"No. I just…I'm fine. Its just time I left. Let me go."

Wolf let go. He looked at her oddly, cocking his head. Something wasn't right with Cinnamon, no matter what she said. But maybe she needed to go off on her own. He had been there after all. But sometimes that was the last thing that they should do.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"If you want to talk or anything…?" Virginia added from behind him.

"No. No. I just have to go. Goodbye." Cinnamon said and ducked into the brush.

Wolf could hear her run off into the woods. He turned to Virginia with a worried expression on his face.

"I'm worried about her. Something isn't right. Even the way she smells is off." he said.

Virginia nodded in agreement.

"So what do we do? Do we follow her?" she asked.

Wolf paused.

"I don't know. I don't think we should leave her on her own, but I don't think we should make her stay in our sight like a little cub. Let's follow her, but stay off a little ways." he suggested finally.

"Okay." Virginia agreed.

The two waited for a good amount of time before following Cinnamon's trail.

Cinnamon slowed when she caught the scent of the witch. She didn't know how she knew the smell, but she knew it. It was the strange smell of an old woman mixed with many things that combined into a smell of bad magic. It made Cinnamon want to turn around and leave. But she couldn't.

Cinnamon entered the clearing around the house slowly. She silently approached the door. Before she could even raise her hand to knock, it swung open. Cinnamon had somehow known that it would.

Inside, hidden by the darkness, was the witch. Cinnamon could only see her outline and her eyes. It sent a shiver up and down her spine.

"I…I have the rose." she said.

"Bring it to me. And you will be free." the witch croaked.

Cinnamon pulled the rose from her pocket. She shouldn't do this. It couldn't be right. This old woman was evil. She could tell from the way she smelled if not from anything else. But Cinnamon found herself stepping closer to the witch anyway. She handed her the rose from as far away as she could. The witch snatched it greedily, then began cackling with delight.

"It's mine! It's all mine! Oh, they won't know what hit them. You have been a good pet, my little wolf. But I've left your leash too long. Down!" the witch cried, and Cinnamon felt herself forced to the ground.

Cinnamon growled at the witch angrily, but something tightened, hurting her, and she had to stop. A whine escaped her as she tried to gasp in some air.

"You thought you could be free of me, did you? You don't know what you're dealing with. Perhaps it is time for me to show you. You and the rulers, starting with Wendell."

Cinnamon whimpered again.

"That's the witch's cottage! What is she doing here!" Wolf exclaimed.

Virginia watched silently as Cinnamon slowly entered the cottage. They needed to get closer if they wanted to see what was going on.

"Come on." she said to Wolf, then ran, staying low, up to the side of the house, near a window.

Wolf didn't like it, but he followed her.

"This is a bad idea, Virginia." he whispered, "I think Cinnamon's still under a spell."

Virginia shushed him, then peeked in the window. Wolf looked with her.

"The rose! She gave her the rose!" Wolf said in a tiny whisper.

The two watched as the witch barked out something and Cinnamon was forced to the ground. They could see that there was magic controlling her. The witch turned from the window for a moment, doing something at the wooden table. When she turned again, the rose was gone from her hand, hidden somewhere. The witch said something else, then both she and Cinnamon disappeared.

Wolf jumped to his feet.

"What do we do? What do we do?" he asked out loud.

Virginia straightened.

"Could you hear any of what they said?" she asked.

"A little. Not too much. Something about the rulers…Wendell!" Wolf exclaimed, suddenly realizing what that meant.

"We have to get back to the castle." Virginia said.

"Come on!" Wolf said, starting off into the woods.

Virginia ran after him.

Maive was getting very, very impatient. Why was the day so long? She still had so long until the right time for her spell. Wolf and Virginia could be dead by now.

Somehow she doubted that. If they were in immediate danger of dying, she trusted her premonitions to tell her. But that didn't mean they couldn't be in trouble right now.

Maive paced along the cobblestone walk in the garden for about the hundredth time. Why was time always so slow when you're waiting?

Maive heard a shout from the guards on duty. It sounded like trouble. She hurried that way to see what it was.

"No!" Maive cried.

This couldn't be happening. Not now! Not to her! Marissa was standing in the courtyard, only a few paces from Wendell, a girl cowering at her feet. Tony stood off to the side, waiting for instructions. The girl tried to speak, but couldn't.

"Hello, Wendell." the witch said, "You have ignored my threats. That was very foolish of you. Almost as foolish as sending two guards and this nincompoop. It is time to punish you for underestimating me."

"Guards!" Wendell yelled.

"Oh, they can't help you now." Marissa said smoothly.

And indeed the guards couldn't get to Wendell. They were all frozen where they stood. They yelled in panic.

"What is your worst fear, Wendell? What is the thing that deep down inside, scares you the most?" Marissa asked.

She looked closely at Wendell. Then, she laughed.

"Oh, the Evil Queen has marked you well." she said.

"W…what? I don't know what you're talking about." Wendell said, trying to back away.

"Your worst fear is to be turned into a dog, forgotten and abandoned. You fear that you will speak and no one will understand you. You fear what would have happened if not for your friends." Marissa said, "Your fear is granted, Wendell."

The witch pointed a finger at Wendell and before he could even shout, he was engulfed in magic and changed into a golden retriever. He barked, panicked.

Maive shook her head furiously. This couldn't be happening. She was nowhere near experienced enough to handle this. Wendell wasn't the only one to have underestimated Marissa. The Coven had, as well. They should have sent a master witch. Not her.

"Tony, bring me the dog." Marissa commanded.

Tony reached for Wendell, ready and willing to drag his friend to his death. Maive watched in horror.

Wendell backed up, barking frantically. He could see Maive had been right, Anthony was under the witch's control. Wendell tried to think of what he should do, but all he could think of amidst his panic was to do what he had done last time. So he ran, skidding down the halls until he came to the room with the magic mirror. Wendell jumped up on the mirror, scratching at the catch with his paws until it moved, turning the mirror on. Wendell paused, glancing over his shoulder. Tony appeared in the door. He called back down the hall, then started after him. Wendell jumped into the mirror.

Marissa was tired of being old. She waved a hand over herself. There was a flash of magic and her old self was replaced by an elegant young woman. She heard a gasp from the corner.

Marissa spun on Maive. She grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of hiding before she could react. Marissa was so loving being young again.

"Th…that's not supposed to be possible." Maive stuttered.

"Not for you, it's not." Marissa replied, "I know you, don't I? You're a witch. Did the Coven send you?"

Maive didn't respond.

"They did. The fools. I can sense your magic. You are just an amateur. You are nothing."

Marissa threw Maive from her, sending her sprawling on the floor. Maive stared at Marissa, still astounded.

"Cinnamon. Tony. You two will fetch Wendell. And please don't fall in love and screw everything up like Wolf did. You will work together. Tony, you know the city. Cinnamon, you can catch the dog. Now, go!" Marissa ordered.

Cinnamon whined in submission and scrambled to her feet. She followed Tony down the hall, and through the mirror into the 10th Kingdom.

Wolf paused as they reached the castle. Virginia skidded to a stop behind him.

"I am not swimming in the moat again." she announced immediately.

Wolf glanced at her, then at the castle again.

"I can get us in. You won't have to. Follow me and don't make a sound." he said.

Virginia nodded and followed as he set out for the castle.

The two ran to the wall, then edged around towards the servant's door at the back of the castle. They snuck in and to a balcony overlooking the courtyard, ducking the guards that passed.

Wolf signaled to Virginia to remain silent and stay where she was, hidden in the shadows by a suit of armor. He crept closer for a better view. He saw a young woman in the courtyard. She was seated in an elegant chair. A younger girl stood before her, her hands tied, guards on either side of her. The scent of magic was all over the courtyard. Wolf returned to Virginia's side.

"I don't see Wendell or Cinnamon. There's a woman down there that smells like the witch, but she's much younger. She smells of magic. I think the witch did a spell on herself to make her young again. That's all I can think of. Even a daughter would smell different." Wolf reported.

"So what do we do?" Virginia whispered back.

Wolf thought, turning over all the possibilities in his mind before answering.

"There's another girl down there, tied up. I think she might be able to help us. She might at least know where Wendell and Cinnamon are. But she's surrounded by guards. We should hide out until they put her in the dungeon or something. Then, we can get to her without too much trouble." Wolf suggested.

"Right. Where can we hide? Not our room."

"No." Wolf agreed, "I know! Follow me."

Wolf set off again with Virginia right behind him. He led her down to the kitchens. They had to wait until the servants down there were busy, then ducked into a room in the back. Wolf closed the door behind them as quietly as possible.

Virginia looked around. There was food all over. The dark, damp room went back pretty far. She wondered how Wolf had known about it.

"What is this? A storage room?" she asked.

"The larder. I came in here when I was getting ingredients for the poison the Evil Queen wanted. This thing goes on forever. I'm willing to bet that you can get into the dungeon from here. It would make sense. That way they could take food to the prisoners. I figured we could wait in here." Wolf said.

"I think you're just hungry." Virginia replied, as she explored the place.

"Huff-puff, that, too." Wolf agreed, picking up a piece of seasoned meat and tearing into it.

Virginia had to look away. Sometimes Wolf's eating habits made her turn a little green. He was much better about it now, but every once in a while he forgot.

Virginia picked up an apple, checked it carefully for anything bad ( she didn't really trust apples anymore), then bit into it. She chewed extra carefully, then swallowed. Seeing as she hadn't choked or fallen down dead, she sat down and took another bite.

The two settled in for a possibly long wait.

Wendell knew that the witch wouldn't let him get away, just as his stepmother had not. He doubted he would be lucky enough to run into someone like Virginia again. He had only himself to rely on this time. He considered hiding in the park until Anthony passed, but realized it would never work. He could tell by the girl's whimpering that she was at least part wolf. No doubt the witch would send her after him, possibly with Anthony. She could sniff him out. He needed to get away from this place. There had to be someone who could help him or somewhere he could hide.

Wendell took off into the park.

Ivy and Danielle stood, waiting to be noticed at the sign near the entrance of the restaurant. Ivy waited with a tad more patience than her friend did.

A waitress finally noticed them and hurried over. Danielle sighed when she saw her. Not another annoying, dim-witted waitress.

"One table, two seats, preferably by a window. Can you do that?" she asked.

Ivy elbowed her friend in the ribs.

"Ow." Danielle said and turned to glare at her friend.

Ivy looked over at the opposite wall.

"Yeah…um…this way, please." the waitress said, pausing to smack her gum.

The sound grated on Danielle's nerves. She wasn't having a good day. She didn't need this.

Ivy sensed her friends growing agitation and shot her a look. Danielle rolled her green eyes and finally nodded. Alright, she would behave. Ivy didn't press it. She really wasn't in the right mood to put up with an annoying waitress either.

The two girls followed the waitress to a table next to a large glass wall. The entire wall was a window. Danielle should have paid more attention when she had asked. This place had only one real wall, back by the kitchens.

The waitress handed them two menus, then left quickly.

"How can you be in a bad mood, today? We've finally reached New York. We've been driving for twelve days. I'm glad for a meal that's not McDonald's." Ivy said.

"Well, you wouldn't let me go to Denny's or IHOP." Danielle replied.

Ivy made a face at the mention of the two fast food places. Danielle continued.

"Fact is, I don't really know why I'm in a bad mood. Just a feeling I have. Like somehow, I know something bad's going to happen soon." Danielle said.

"I have it, too. The oogies. But right now I'm feeling more like I'm starving, myself. And I'm usually not hungry yet. I never eat dinner this early."

"Then, call it a late lunch. We can pick up a snack later." Danielle sighed again and picked up her menu, "What you going to get? I never know what to order at places like this. The fanciest restaurant I've ever been to was either a Sizzler or the Olive Garden."

The two girls continued their conversation all through they're late lunch, discussing anything that came to mind. Most of which was television related.

"Wouldn't it be cool if stuff like on Charmed was real?" Danielle asked, finally.

"I'd give anything to live in a place where stuff like magic and things were real." Ivy agreed, wishfully.

She closed her bright blue eyes for a moment, imagining it.

"I'm going to go for a walk. Try and shake off this feeling." she said, rising from the table.

"I'll go with you." Danielle said, quickly.

She threw down some money to pay for their food, then followed her.

The two girls started off into Central Park. It wasn't even dark yet, but the shadows cast by the trees made it seem later than it was. It was colder here than either girl was used to. Ivy pulled her denim jacket closer around her.

"Okay. I don't know about you, but my oogies are worse. Something is going to happen." Danielle said with conviction.

Ivy nodded. She could feel it, too.

Both girls knew that they were a little strange. Okay, a lot strange. And the cult TV that they watched didn't help (both followed Buffy, Angel, Roswell, the X-Files, and Charmed faithfully). Ivy dreamed of things before they happened. Danielle got a strange feeling she called "the oogies" before things happened. And usually when Danielle picked something up, Ivy could sense it. They knew each other so well they could usually tell what the other was thinking (although sometimes Ivy could do it so well that it creeped Danielle out). Ivy was blonde and blue-eyed to Danielle's dark brown hair and green eyes. They had been friends since the 1st grade. They were both seniors in high school now. And they both craved some kind of adventure.

"This is a great park, you know. Kind of like walking in the forest." Danielle said.

"Yeah." Ivy agreed.

Ivy froze.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"What?" Danielle asked, stopping and turning to face her friend.

"Shhh." Ivy silenced her.

She cocked her head, listening for the sound she had heard. There it was again. The sound of something in the bushes. Something that was panting.

A moment later, a golden dog emerged from the brush. He stopped when he saw the two girls.

"Oh my gosh. He looks just like Sammy." Ivy said, referring to her puppy dog.

"He does." Danielle agreed, "I sure hope he won't lick me in the mouth like Sammy."

Ivy squatted down so she was on the same level as the dog. She held out her hand carefully, not intruding on the dog's space, but letting him come to her. She had dealt with lost dogs before. Back home, she used to work part time at her friend Brianne's kennel. She had only been bitten once.

"There's leash laws here, right? Either he has a careless owner or he's lost." Ivy commented without looking at Danielle.

The dog crept closer to Ivy and sniffed her hand. He licked her palm shyly, then looked up at her. Something about the way he looked at her struck Ivy as weird.

Seeing that Ivy hadn't lost any fingers, Danielle knelt next to her and stroked the golden retriever.

"Hi, doggy." she said, "You're a good puppy. Are you lost?"

The dog barked, glancing at Danielle. His eyes locked on hers and Danielle almost fell over backwards.

"Okay, the dog just looked at me like he understood me. Am I more nuts than usual?" Danielle asked.

"I don't think so. Unless I am, too. Ask him another question or something." Ivy suggested.

"Uh…okay. God, this is going to sound so odd. Dog, if you understand me, go to that tree and sit down." Danielle said, pointing.

The dog trotted over to the tree Danielle had pointed to and sat down. He barked at her again, as if waiting. Danielle put a hand to her head.

"Maybe it's time to lock me up and throw away the key." she said quietly.

"I'll keep you company." Ivy added, staring at the dog in shock, "Okay, dog. Bark twice if you understand."

The dog barked twice, this time seeming impatient.

"Bark once for yes, twice for no. Are you really a dog?" Ivy asked.

He barked twice.

"A dog that understands English and isn't a dog? Did we get sucked in the TV?" Danielle asked.

"Do you want our help or something?" Ivy asked, ignoring Danielle's comment.

The dog barked once.

"You know what, if this weren't so strange it would be cool. Maybe we should write this down and send it to Joss Whedon or somebody." Danielle said.

"I don't care what we do. I want in on whatever this is. Maybe magic is real. Oh, please let it be real." Ivy prayed, raising her eyes heavenward.

The dog barked at them again and turned to go out of the park. He started off, then stopped and looked at them again.

"I think he wants us to follow him." Ivy said.

"Why? Is Timmy in the well?" Danielle asked, "Sorry, couldn't resist."

Ivy again ignored her and hurried off after the dog. Danielle shook her head in disbelief, then ran after her.

"If he ends up leading us to a pile of bones or something, I am going to be very upset with you, Ivy." Danielle warned.

Ivy nodded absently. She hurried her pace a little more. She didn't want to lose the dog.

The dog had stopped around the corner near the Grill on the Park. He looked at the restaurant, then back at the girls and barked.

"Great. We met a super-smart dog that has expensive taste in food." Danielle groaned.

"Shut up." Ivy shot back at her, "What is it? Have you been here before?"

The dog barked once. He ducked down and covered his head with his paws.

"Oh, I suck at charades. Danielle, help." Ivy said.

"I thought you wanted me to shut up." Danielle said, sarcastically, but Ivy knew she didn't mean it, "Um…dark? Covering your eyes? Hiding?"

The dog barked.

"Hiding? Hiding from what?" Ivy wondered out loud.

"Bad guys, duh. Warlock or demon?" she asked.

The dog looked confused.

"Human?" she rephrased the question.

The dog barked three times.

"What's three? Yes and no? That's not helping. More than one person?" Danielle asked.

The dog barked once.

"Okay. So maybe one's human." Ivy suggested, trying to piece everything together.

The dog barked once again.

"How many are there? Will I get to kick butt like Buffy?" Danielle asked hopefully.

"Please." Ivy snorted.

Danielle kicked her in the leg.

"Ow. I still kick harder." Ivy said, then jumped out of the way before Danielle could kick her again.

The dog jumped up and down to get their attention. He barked twice.

"Two? One's human. So one's not human?" Ivy asked.

The dog barked three times.

"How can one be not human and not not human?" Danielle demanded.

"Part human? Like Doyle?" Ivy suggested.

The dog barked once again.

"So he wants to hide from two people, one human and one part human, and he wants us to help him?" Danielle asked.

The dog barked once and whined with impatience, nudging Danielle's leg.

"I think he wants us to hurry." Danielle commented.

"Okay, where do we hide him?" Ivy asked, pacing as she thought, "Let's take him to the car."

"But I want to see what we are up against." Danielle protested, falling into the role of heroine easily after the many hours of television she had absorbed.

"Right. Dog, you can stay in the car and we'll come back and wait to see who comes looking for you." Ivy said.

The dog didn't bark. Ivy guessed that meant he didn't like it, but wouldn't protest. She hurried past the restaurant with the dog on her heels. She dug her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door to her truck. She held the door open for the dog and he jumped in. She closed the door after rolling down the window a little for him. She quickly hurried back to where Danielle waited. Danielle was crouching behind a tree and some bushes next to a park bench. Ivy joined her. It wasn't long before someone passed.

"Do you have the scent or not?" an older man with balding hair demanded.

A younger girl with reddish hair looked at him and growled softly.

"Don't push me. I don't want to be here. I just found out about this kingdom like a week ago. I never wanted to come here. The air stinks. So much smoke. I'm lucky I can smell anything else." she replied.

Ivy shot a look at Danielle. Danielle opened her mouth to say something and Ivy knew it would be about what kind of person talked about smelling something, but she shushed her before she could.

The girl stopped.

"Yes, I have a scent. I can smell the dog. He was just here. There's some girls' scents here, too. Mixed with the dog. He might have run across some people from that…oh, food." the girl said, glancing with longing at the Grill on the Park.

"Not now. We get Wendell, we leave. No stopping. Marissa will give you a steak when we get back." the older man sighed loudly, "Why do I keep ending up with wolves?"

"Because we're the only ones who can put up with you. And not for long, I might add." the girl said sharply.

"Was that a threat?" the man demanded angrily.

"No. It was a promise. Now, shut up and let me concentrate. This is a lot harder than it looks. There's so many scents. Many appetizing." the girl said, closing her eyes and sniffing, "Got it. Come on."

The girl and the older man started off past the restaurant towards the parking lot. They stopped next to Ivy's truck.

"I have to hear what they're saying." Ivy said.

She got out from the bushes and headed towards the parking lot. She ignored Danielle's half-started protests. She had learned when she was much younger that the secret to getting into places where you didn't belong was acting like you did. She strode up to the car parked next to hers and fumbled with her keys, pretending to be opening the door. She pretended to drop them and ducked down, listening closely.

"I've lost it. The trail stops here, but all I see are these things." the girl said.

"I don't see a dog in any of these cars. He must have gone back and hid in the Park. Wendell hasn't been anywhere other than the Park, the Grill, our apartment, and my mother-in-law's. He has to be at one of the four. And I would bet it's one of the first two." the man said, heading back into the Park.

Ivy straightened. Once the two were out of sight, she went over to her truck. She had to open the door to find the dog. He had squeezed down in between the seats where he couldn't be seen in the shadows. Clever.

"I think you're safe for now." she whispered.

Danielle ran up behind her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They think he's hiding in the Park." she reported.

"So what do we do?" Danielle voiced the question that Ivy had been wondering herself.

They both looked at the dog. He didn't seem to know either.


	7. Chapter 7

-1Maive's mind was an absolute blank. She knew she should try to do something, anything, but she just couldn't. Marissa was right. She was nothing. The Coven had underestimated her and sent Maive. They had made a wrong decision and now everyone would pay for it.

Maive didn't even fight when she was tied up. She felt herself sinking into a dark place, almost like in meditation, but different and bad. And she didn't fight it. There was nothing she could do anyway.

Maive felt herself being dragged along. After a few moments she was thrown into a cell. She fell back against the wall, but managed to keep her feet. She looked around her, but didn't really care or register anything. She was in some kind of dungeon. It was dark and gloomy as a dungeon should be. Cobwebs all over. It looked like it hadn't been used to often.

Maive sat down on a wooden bench and let herself fall deeper into the blackness.

A sudden noise made her jerk back to herself and look around. She went to the door and looked out the barred window. She couldn't see too well, but she could hear. And what she heard sounded like people.

"See, I knew it would lead to the dungeon." a male voice drifted down to her.

"I never doubted you." a woman's voice replied, "You think she's here yet?"

"I don't know. It's been long enough, hasn't it?" the man pondered, his voice getting closer.

There was no response so Maive guessed the woman must have made a gesture of some sort. She moved over to see if she could see who was coming.

A man and woman stepped into the dim lighting and Maive recognized them from her visions. It was Wolf and Virginia!

"Wolf!" she called, "Virginia!"

Wolf and Virginia hurried over to her cell door.

"How do you know us?" Virginia asked.

"My name is Maive. I'm a good witch, sent by The Coven to help. But I'm just an apprentice. I have visions and I saw you two." Maive said in a rush.

"Where's Wendell? What happened?" Wolf asked as he searched for some way to open the cell door.

"Marissa turned Wendell into a dog. Then, she made herself young again. She's too powerful. I don't know how we're going to stop her." Maive said.

"Where's Wendell now?" Wolf asked.

"He ran. I think he went through the mirror. Marissa sent the wolf-girl and Tony after him."

"There's no key or anything." Wolf reported.

"Stand back. I can open it." Maive said.

Now that she had something to accomplish, some point in her even existing for at least just one moment, she could think again. She remembered a spell, taught to her early. A spell to break locks.

Maive chanted the spell and knocked on the door three times. The lock exploded and the door swung open. Maive smiled. At least, she could do something even if it was only opening a door.

Wolf and Virginia stared at her. Wolf scratched his temple and shook his head.

"We have to help Wendell. Cinnamon can track him down and with Tony to keep her on task…" Wolf frowned, "We have to hurry."

"I'm coming with. There has to be something I can do to help fix this." Maive said.

Wolf began to shake his head, but Virginia put a hand on his arm.

"She might be able to help." she said quietly.

Wolf looked at Maive who nodded emphatically.

"Please. I've already messed up once by letting Marissa get this far. I can't let her win." she said.

"Huff-puff, alright. Let's go." Wolf said finally.

The three turned and headed back to the larder and up to the mirror room.

Cinnamon really didn't like this Tony. He wouldn't be so bad if he would stop bossing her around like some kind of dog. It was past the full moon, otherwise she would have used that excuse to rip out his throat.

No, she wouldn't! She couldn't think like that. She was a good wolf, why was she thinking like that without even the full moon. Could the witch be messing with her mind? That was the only explanation she could find that she even remotely liked.

"He has to be around here somewhere. You're supposed to be able to track stuff. You're a wolf. Why can't you find him?" Tony demanded.

Cinnamon growled.

"Because you're stupid kingdom has destroyed all the natural air and I can't smell through this. Plus, there's no scent of his to find over here. The dog's gone." she said with finality.

Tony didn't seem to notice her tone.

"He can't be gone. Where would he go? We wouldn't run off into a city he doesn't know, would he?" he pondered out loud.

"Well, then where is he?" Cinnamon asked.

Tony's mouth quirked angrily. He turned and stomped off in the opposite direction. Cinnamon glared after him for a moment before following. The witch had said for her to follow Tony so she had to.

Wendell knew his castle wasn't safe anymore. Wasn't even his anymore. He must have the worst luck with evil witches than anyone in history. Even Snow White only had to face one.

But Wendell had no idea how he could do anything from here. Even with the two girls to help.

I must get back to my castle, Wendell said to himself, It's the only way. We managed to save the Kingdoms before with Anthony and Virginia. Maybe these two can do the trick this time.

Wendell barked at the two and started back towards the mirror. The girls looked at each other, then ran after him. Wendell made sure to make use of his dog sense of smell. He could smell Anthony and the wolf-girl, but they weren't nearby.

Wendell came to a stop when he reached the mirror. He looked back over his shoulder for the two girls. There they were. As soon as he was sure they were close enough to see where he went, he jumped back through the mirror.

"What the…?" Danielle asked, mouth hanging open in a big O.

"It must be some kind of…portal or something?" Ivy said, approaching the area where the dog had disappeared slowly.

The two girls examined it. They could kind of see a room through the distortion.

"Well?" Danielle asked, looking at her friend.

"Here goes nothing. I hate this world anyway." Ivy said and stepped into the mirror.

Danielle followed.

The two were in nothingness for a moment before being thrown out on the other side of the mirror. Ivy put out her hands to catch her balance. Man, what a ride!

Danielle looked all right. Ivy looked at her questioningly.

"I've watched enough Sliders to prepare me, I guess." she said with a grin.

"Shut up. I don't have cable." Ivy replied.

The two looked around them. They were in a room with many mirrors. The dog was nearby, waiting for them. When he saw them arrive he started towards one of the mirrors.

"I think he wants us to see something." Ivy said, moving over to where the dog was.

Where the dog sat near them, in the mirror reflected was a young man. Danielle looked from the reflection to the dog and back again.

"That's you?" she asked, pointing at the image.

The dog placed a paw on the image and the reflection of the young man placed his hand in the same spot. The dog whined.

"Did someone do this to you?" Ivy asked, kneeling next to him.

The dog whined again and growled a little.

"I'll take that as a yes. But what do we do?"

The dog looked at her. He cocked his head as if to say he wasn't sure.

"Great." Danielle snorted, "Just peachy."

Ivy opened her mouth to say something to her, but all of them fell silent when the door creaked open. A man entered first, not looking at them, but looking out the door. Two women followed him. He shut the door behind them and turned around.

"Wendell?" he asked, dropping to his knees and holding his arms open for the dog.

The dog ran over to him. The man petted the dog and scratched his ears as he talked to him.

"Yes, I heard you got turned into a dog. Don't worry. Huff-puff, we did this before and we can do it again." the man said with conviction.

"Uh…who are you?" the woman next to him asked the two girls.

She was staring at them suspiciously.

"I'm Danielle. She's Ivy. We found this dog in Central Park and he said he wasn't a dog and he wanted our help and…" Danielle tried to explain in a rush.

"Said? You can understand him?" she interrupted.

"Well, no. But he barked once for yes and twice for no. We hid him from this weird girl and this old guy and then he led us here." Danielle finished.

"Worked the first time." the man agreed, speaking to Wendell. He looked up at the girls, "I'm Wolf. This is my wife, Virginia. And that's Maive. We were going to look for Wendell when you brought him here."

The dog, apparently Wendell, looked indignant at that statement.

"He actually brought us here." Ivy said, and the dog looked happier.

"Older guy? That most be Tony and the wolf-girl!" Maive exclaimed from where she was standing over by the travel mirror.

She turned to Wolf and Virginia and started to say something, when she fell to one knee, a hand on her head.

"Oh." she moaned.

"What is it? Maive?" Virginia asked, going to her.

Maive didn't answer. She had her eyes closed and appeared to be unable to hear anything Virginia was saying to her. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and looked around the room at everyone.

"These two must stay. They are going to help us defeat Marissa. How, I don't know. But they will." she said.

"Us?" Danielle asked.

Maive nodded as she struggled to her feet. Virginia helped her.

"This is just like one of my stories." Ivy said to herself. She was beaming, "Yes!"

Virginia glanced from one girl to the next. How odd that they should seem so happy to be caught up in this. All she had wanted was to go home when she had gotten here. But they were different people.

"We'll do whatever we can to help." Ivy said in her most assertive voice.

Wendell barked softly and whined, motioning at the mirror.

"Oh, right! Cinnamon and Tony are out there looking for him. What do we do about them?" Wolf asked.

"I'll go after them. I might be able to break the spell on them." Maive volunteered.

Maive stopped in front of the two girls.

"I'm getting things from both of you. You both have the gift. But in your world it couldn't be fully achieved. Trust in yourselves. Don't doubt yourselves like I did. That's your greatest weakness when fighting her." Maive warned, them moved past them and stepped through the mirror.

"This is all too fast. What do we do?" Virginia asked in confusion.

"We fight the witch." Danielle said simply.

Wolf nodded.

"Right. Wendy, you need to stay somewhere safe. You wait here for Maive to come back. The rest of us will go after the witch." he said.

He looked at everyone for confirmation. Everyone nodded.

"Huff, let's go!" he said, leading the way out.

Ivy hung back by her friend.

"What did she mean?" she asked in a whisper.

Danielle shook her head, "I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything. Let's just kick butt and go."

Ivy nodded and followed her friend as she left the room after Wolf and Virginia. But she knew there was more to it than that. So much more. What were they getting into? And would they be able to get out if they did manage to beat this evil witch? And would she want to?

Virginia's mind was spinning. She had to just drop everything for now and concentrate. This was important. She could ask questions later. Virginia followed Wolf's lead closely, the two girls behind her. They snuck back out into the hallway and over to the stairs. They all plastered themselves against the wall when two guards came by. Virginia held her breath, hoping they didn't see them. She waited until the guards were well past to breathe again. This was too much! Wolf gestured to her to hurry up. They slunk down the stairs and hid beneath them. Wolf pushed them back behind him as he surveyed the courtyard. Virginia peered over his shoulder. The woman (who they now knew was the witch) was pacing back and forth, talking to herself. Virginia strained her ears, trying to hear what she was saying. It sounded like she was arguing over which kingdom to destroy first.

"What do we do?" Virginia whispered to Wolf.

Wolf pulled her back in the deep shadows.

"We need weapons. If we can get the rose away from her we can kill her." he said.

"Rose?" Danielle whispered.

"The magic golden rose. It's what's giving her all that power." Wolf explained hurriedly.

"You're going to need a distraction." Ivy said.

She looked at Wolf, then at Virginia.

"I can do it."

"No." Wolf said, shaking his head.

Virginia knew that Wolf wouldn't let some girl who had no idea what was going on get herself killed. But the girl was right. They needed a distraction.

"Wolf's right." she agreed, "I'll do it."

Before anyone could stop her, Virginia ran out into the courtyard. The witch spun before Virginia even reached her.

"You!" she cried. The witch held up one hand and Virginia stopped dead still, "You may have broken a couple of my spells, but you have no idea what you are up against. You believe that I am like your mother. That I am evil and my only wish is to rule the 9 Kingdoms. You are almost right. But unlike your mother I will not be so stupid as she to depend on common people. Or to let you go free."

The witch locked her gaze on Virginia's. Virginia wanted to close her eyes, to get away from that stare, but she couldn't.

"_Oh, Virginia. You are so blind. Deep down you know the truth. No one loves you. No one wants you. Tony and Wolf pretend to because they need you. They are just using you. You know it. Don't you? Don't you?!_" the witch demanded.

Virginia couldn't move. She couldn't even breathe. What if it was true? She had always been afraid that no one loved her, that no one could love her. Ever since her mother had left. Something about the witch made Virginia believe her. It was true! Virginia felt her eyes well up.

"_See? You do know. Poor delusional Virginia. How could you be so foolish? Thinking that someone actually loved you. You know it's not true. You know that it's all a lie._" the witch continued.

The tears that had welled up in Virginia's eyes began to fall.

"_Your mother was trying to spare you this. Did you know that? She was trying to kill you before you had to go through this. Wouldn't it be so much nicer just to fall asleep and not wake up. To fall into the soft, cool, darkness. Would you like that Virginia?_"

Virginia nodded slightly. Anything was better than knowing that no one ever had and ever would love her. That even Wolf didn't really love her.

"_Come her, Virginia. I will make it all go away._" the witch said, holding out a hand to her.

Virginia slowly stepped towards her, holding out her own hand. The tears were coming in torrents now. Virginia sniffed. It would be over soon.

Ivy stared after Virginia in shock. She was going to do it! She could have, she knew she could have. Ivy mentally slapped herself. It was not the time to argue with herself. Now was the time to use the distraction Virginia had given them. No time to think at all, just time to act. Ivy tapped Danielle and Wolf on the arm and motioned for them to snap out of it and move. Wolf glanced at Virginia and whined. Ivy was struck by how he seemed like her puppy when he was upset and worried. Again, not now. Ivy led the group and edged out of the shadows. She stayed low and tried to get behind the witch who was evidently weaving some kind of spell on Virginia.

Ivy stopped and looked back to see how Danielle and Wolf were doing. And saw that they had a problem. Wolf had stopped just off to the side and behind the witch. He must have been in her blind spot or something because she didn't see him. Maybe she was too busy with the spell. That wasn't the important part. Wolf had his teeth bared and looked ready to kill something, most likely the witch.

"That's not true!" Wolf yelled.

Ivy winced. So much for the plan.

The witch whirled on Wolf. She held one hand out towards while keeping the other pointed at Virginia.

"_What would you know, you filthy animal?! You know that's all you are. You're just a nasty, nasty animal. How could you ever trick yourself into thinking that a girl like her could ever love a wolf like you?_" the witch asked.

Wolf felt her compelling words. They sounded so… Wolf shook it off. That was her power! To look inside them and see their greatest fear and use it against them. But there was a problem with that. Wolf grinned and it wasn't a nice grin. _That_ spell wouldn't work. A wolf didn't particularly care about being called an animal. Wolf let go of his human side and let himself be a wolf. It would have been better to be wolf on the outside, too, but it wasn't the right time of the month and he didn't have the time. Wolf snarled, crouching low. He pulled his lips back from his teeth in what was almost a smile. He locked his eyes onto the witch's. Even a human could understand these signs.

The witch stumbled back a step. She managed to keep up the hand that was towards Virginia. Virginia didn't move and didn't seem to see what was going on.

Wolf pounced. The witch raised her other hand again and this time it glowed with magic. Wolf stopped in mid-air. The witch jerked her arm and Wolf was flung across the room to crash into a table in the corner. He yelped at the impact. But he forced himself to get up. He had to stop her. If he didn't, she would kill Virginia. His Virginia. The mother of his unborn cub. Wolf growled low in his throat, the growl building as he got to his feet. He could feel that he was bleeding a little, but he didn't care. Wolf took slow, cautious steps towards the witch, circling slightly.

Before he could do anything, though, one of the girls (his mind slowly registered that it was the one called Ivy) ran out in front of him.

"Wait." she said shortly to him, then turned to the witch, "You stop this! Boy, did that sound like a line out of a comic or what?"

The witch laughed.

"You, little girl are easier to read than even Wendell. You…" the witch began weaving a new spell.

"Shut up!" the girl yelled.

Wolf backed up a step. He could smell new magic and this time it was coming from the girl!

"I don't want to her anymore of your bull! My greatest fear…blah, blah, blah. I've seen better bad guys on prime time. Danielle, am I right?" she said, shooting to her friend for help.

The other girl's face lit up as she caught on and she ran to back up her friend.

"No kidding. I'd be more scared of those crap werewolves on Buffy than her. And you can see the zippers on them!" she said.

Wolf didn't understand a lot of what they were saying, but he could smell magic building. A different kind of magic than was already in the room from the witch. He had never liked the smell of magic, but this was different than any he had smelled before.

"You two think you can fight me with insults? You don't know who you're fighting. This isn't a game or a TV show. You are not superheroes. You are just two girls who have watched too much television and think you can handle evil." the witch said.

She gestured at them, sending a glowing ball of magic at each of them. Just before it would have hit, both girls raised their hands at the same time and deflected it with some kind of glowing magic shield of their own. The witch looked surprised. But so did the girls. The witch quickly covered her surprise. She seemed to be deciding something quickly. Wolf sensed something was about to happen and tensed for it. The witch's whole body began to glow and she began chanting something that Wolf didn't understand. A blast of light shot out from her in all directions. It hit Wolf and then all was black.

Ivy groaned and put a hand on her head. Man, what a headache! She slowly opened her eyes.

"What the…? Where am I?" she asked out loud.

Ivy looked around, but all she could see was forest. She seemed to be all alone. She got to her feet. Maybe the others were nearby.

"Danielle! Wolf! Virginia!" she called as she walked a little aimlessly.

It suddenly struck her that calling loudly into the woods might not be a good idea. She might attract something or someone she didn't want to. Ivy stopped and tried to think of what she should do. She had no idea where she was, she had no supplies…

"Wait! My backpack!" she said to herself.

Ivy slung her backpack around. She had completely forgotten she had put it on. It made sense. She never went anywhere without her backpack. She unzipped all the pockets and dug through it.

"Jerky, good. Paper. Pencil. CD player? Gee, that's great. I'm lost in god knows where, but I can listen to Faith Hill. Book. Another book. Woah, that's a library book! This is insane. Apple. Notebook. Pocket knife. Batteries. Keys. Wallet. I wonder what currency they use here. Wherever here is. Gum. Granola Bar. Receipt for somewhere. Hairbrush. Pony tail. Old sandwich, ewww. I've got to learn to take things out of here. Um…more pencils. Math homework? When did we get this? Oh, well." Ivy sighed.

That was about it. Her entire list of supplies. This was pretty sad.

"I'm going to die." she said to herself, "Oh, shut up, Ivy. You're not going to die. You might as well get a move on and look for some kind of path or something."

Ivy zipped up her backpack and started walking. She normally liked walking in the woods, but it helped a little to know if you were even on planet Earth. Hopefully, she would find someone that could help her.

Virginia blinked. What had happened? Did she loose her memory again?! No. No. She remembered now. The witch had placed a spell on her and…somehow she had ended up here. Where was here?

Virginia scrambled to her feet and spun around in a circle, looking all around her. Then, she groaned. She had been here before. She was at the base of Snow White Falls. But where was Wolf? And those two girls, Ivy and Danielle, come to think of it. Was she all alone?

"Wolf?" she called over the rushing waters of the Falls.

No answer.

"Wolf!" she called louder.

Still no answer. Well, she would just have to find her way back to the castle. She had done it once before. Of course, that time hadn't gone too well and her father had been there. And Wolf had guided them. Negative thinking was not going to get her anywhere. All she had to do was retrace her steps from before, but avoid the Swamp this time. She would meet up with the others at the castle. That had to be where they would go. Wolf would know that she would head back to where they had last been together and those girls would go there if they could find the way because that was the only part of the Kingdoms they had been before. Virginia took a deep breath and started off.

Danielle sat up. This was bad. Very bad. They had been hit by some kind of spell and from the looks of things, it had sent her somewhere. By herself. Danielle scrambled to her feet and looked around. Yep, she was right. They had been separated.

She began pacing as she tried to get her thoughts in order. For some reason, pacing had always helped her think better. When she thought at all. Danielle was much of a thinker. She was more of a doer. Ivy was the one who thought about stuff. Although, she usually did so after everything was over. That's why they got in trouble so much.

What was it that you were supposed to do when you're lost in the woods? Stay put or look for running water? She knew it was one of the two.

"Well, might as well look for water. I'm thirsty anyway." she said out loud.

Danielle picked a direction at random and started walking that way. If she was lucky, it just might be the right way. Danielle wasn't lucky often.

Wolf sniffed before anything else. No Virginia! Also no Ivy, Danielle, or witch. Wolf opened his eyes and pushed himself up off the ground. He recognized this place. It was the 2nd Kingdom!

"Oh, cripes." was all he could manage.

Wolf wiped at some dried blood at the corner of his mouth. He was near the border. That was good. Maybe he could get back into the 4th Kingdom before the day was out. Maybe he could find Virginia. Oh, he had to find Virginia. She couldn't believe what the witch had said, could she? He loved her with all his heart, she had to know that. Wolf would have howled, but he didn't want to attract attention. Instead he broke into a run towards the 4th Kingdom.

Maive stumbled out of the other side of the mirror. She had never used a traveling mirror before. Mirrors were a subject in Maive's training, a big one. Identifying mirrors, using mirrors, types of mirrors. The whole works. But seeing as there were only two traveling mirrors now, one that was usable, she had never gone through one. It made her queasy.

Maive looked around. She seemed to be in some kind of forest. She started walking, then stopped. Wandering aimlessly was not the way to find Tony and…Cinnamon, was it? What a name! Maive sat down on the grass and reached in a pouch on her belt. She pulled out a small fragment of a mirror.

"Tell me how it is that I may find

Those that are controlled by another's mind

By name of Cinnamon and Anthony they go

Tell me, mirror, I must know." Maive said.

Not a bad rhyme, she thought proudly. At least she hadn't forgotten everything she had been taught.

"The two you seek are near at hand

They search for a dog that rules a land

They remain within the green

But their image cannot be seen." the mirror replied.

Maive frowned. What…? Oh! The witch must be shielding their images.

"A thanks I must give to you

In helping me find the two." Maive said shortly and put the mirror away.

It was always important to thank a talking mirror or they might not want to help you next time. Mirrors could be picky that way. Maive got to her feet and looked around. Near at hand…within the green? They must be in this forest somewhere! She had better hurry and find them before they decided to leave!

Tony was seriously tired of this. Not to mention that all of the girl's food-talk was making him tremendously hungry. And his feet hurt. Plus, he had a headache. And to top it all off, they hadn't found Wendell.

"This is hopeless. We're not going to find him." Tony whined.

"We have to." Cinnamon said shortly, but she was staring with the most longing look Tony had ever seen in the direction of the Grill, "Don't we?"

Tony paused and thought it all over. As long as they were near the Park they should be able to catch Wendell before he went back through the mirror. And he couldn't have gone far. It was getting on in the evening.

"Alright. We'll get some food." Tony nodded.

Cinnamon looked like she might jump for joy. Instead she bounded off towards the Grill. Well, close enough. Tony hurried after her.

"Don't think of wolfing down too much. I don't got that much cash on me." Tony warned.

Cinnamon nodded absently, her mind obviously already on the food. Tony picked a table and sunk into one of the chairs. Cinnamon took the other one. A waitress came soon.

"Can I take your orders?" she asked politely without even looking at them.

Tony picked up a menu. What the heck, he might as well spend all his money now.

"I'll have the steak." he said and would have continued, but he caught Cinnamon out of the corner of his eye.

Her eyes were wide and her tongue had lolled out on one side. She stared at the menu like it was a…oh, who knew what she was imagining? Tony quickly covered.

"Make that two." he said quickly, "And what kind of beer you serve here?"

Cinnamon glanced over at Tony. He had yelled at her for her eating habits. She couldn't help it. She was just so hungry and she had never had food like this. And now here he was, half-drunk.

"Tony. How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked.

"Um…two and a half?" Tony asked, then burped.

Cinnamon growled in frustration.

"Guess it's time to go. Can I get this stuff in a bag or something?" Cinnamon called to the nearest waitress, pointing at what was left on Tony's plate.

If he wasn't going to eat it, she would. Besides, they should watch the mirror. The dog, King Wendell, had to come back to it sooner or later. Tony was right about that at least. Guess everybody had to be right sometime, Cinnamon thought with a shrug as she pulled Tony towards the door, the bag with the left-over food in her other hand.

Maive had followed the first path she had found. It led her to the edge of the forest. But what she saw was amazing! Lead cars sped by on hard streets with people inside, giant glass buildings rose to the sky. Lights all over, making the deepening night seem like early evening. Maive was staring at everything with such interest that she almost didn't see the two people exiting the building nearby and coming towards her.

"Tony!"

"Maive? What the…" Tony exclaimed, suddenly a lot more sober.

"Who's she?" Cinnamon demanded.

Maive closed her eyes and quickly began chanting. If she could finish the spell before Marissa figured out what was going on and countered, she might be able to free them.

"Yours fears have bound you.

Let the binding be undone.

Free the minds and free the body

From the hands of the evil one.

As it is spoken, so let it be done." Maive chanted.

She opened her eyes. Tony and the wolf-girl were standing as if frozen. Maive hurriedly searched through her pouches, found what she was looking for, and threw it. The small vial broke on the ground near Tony's feet. A mist seeped from it to wrap around both of them for a moment, then disappeared. Both blinked for a moment, then seemed to come alive again.

"What the hell did you do?" Tony demanded.

"I did it! I actually did it!" Maive realized.

She clapped her hands together.

"You did what?!" Tony yelled.

"My spell! My spell to free you from Marissa! It actually worked!" Maive cried.

She turned and began walking back towards the mirror, mumbling to herself.

"I knew that the potion was right because Master Leo made it for me, but I had no idea that my spell wording would be so affective. This is excellent! Wait until I tell Mistress Phoebe! Oh, she'll be so pleased. My spells have never worked so well. Well, at all if I make them up, to tell the truth. This is just wonderful!" she rambled to herself.

Tony and Cinnamon hurried after her.

"Maive? Maive! What's going on? What about Pri…I mean, Wendell? Where is he? What's happened?" Tony asked.

"Oh, him. He's hiding in the castle. Gave you two the slip. With a little help." Maive informed them.

"The girls! I knew they're scents were mixed a little too much with that dog's. They must have found him and figured out who he was and brought him back." Cinnamon exclaimed.

"That's about right." Maive agreed, "Wolf, Virginia, and the girls were going to fight Marissa when I left. We have to hurry back and see if they're alright."

"You left my daughter to fight that witch!" Tony exclaimed.

He pushed past Maive and hurried down the path. As much as he might not act like it at times, he loved his daughter. He did not want anything to happen to her. Maive and Cinnamon hurried after him. The three stepped through the mirror.

Danielle had found a path and decided she might as well follow it. It wasn't too long before the forest broke around her and the surroundings turned to farmland. Danielle could tell this much from driving through California so much. With her dad and mom divorced and remarried, she had two homes in two different states. It could be hard sometimes, but it could also be cool. She got two rooms. And twice as many parents to beg money from. But that wasn't the point at the moment. The point was, she had finally found people! Off in the distance, Danielle could see a village. It was obviously a farming community. She could see the little white blotches that had to be sheep. Danielle stopped at a sign. She read it carefully. 'Now entering Little Lamb Village #5' it read. Little Lamb Village, huh? What a cutesy, wutsy name. It sounded like something out of Mother Goose. Danielle shrugged to herself and continued down the road. She was getting very hungry. She would kill for some pizza or maybe just some french fries. Mmmm.

"Stop thinking about food." Danielle commanded herself, "It'll just make you hungrier."

Danielle stopped again when she heard giggling. She turned in a circle, looking for the source. She finally found it. There were a group of girls off to the side in one of the fields. They each carried those curved staff things. What were they called? Crooks! That was it!

"Uh…excuse me, but could you tell me where I am?" Danielle asked, leaning over the fence.

The girls looked at each other and giggled some more. It almost made Danielle sick, all that giggling.

"Why, you're in Little Lamb Village. Didn't you see the sign?" one of them said with a heavy accent that Danielle couldn't place.

"Yes, I know. But where is Little Lamb Village? What country?" Danielle asked again.

"Oh! You must mean the 4th Kingdom. This is King Wendell's kingdom." another girl said.

Wendell. Wasn't that the name of the dog? So the dog was a king? What the…?

"Um…I think I need to talk to somebody in town. Like a tour guide or something?" Danielle asked, talking very slowly as if to a very dim-witted child.

"A guide? Oh, well, you'd best speak with someone else, then. We're just shepherdesses."

"Uh huh." Danielle said slowly, "Well, thanks for the help."

Danielle turned and started down the road. She could feel the shepherdesses watching her.

"Yeah, right. Thanks for nothing." she said quietly to herself.

Danielle hoped that the people in town would be more helpful.

The forest didn't stay a forest long. It was very dark under the foliage so Ivy almost didn't notice. Until she came across the first beanstalk.

"What in the…"she began, but cut herself off as she looked up and could not see the top.

She moved around the beanstalk. It was huge. She stopped when she came to a sign.

"'Condemned. Do not climb.'" she read out loud, "Okay, this is weird. And smelly."

These beanstalks smelled so strong! Her nose was filled with the scent, making her unable to smell anything else. It was very strong. It made her sneeze. Ivy looked around. This place was…well, ominous. She started walking again and couldn't help, but pick up her pace. She would have broke into a run, but something stopped her. It was a statue. She stepped closer to investigate. She had to brush aside some vines, but she saw that the statue was of a young man. She looked down and saw the caption.

"'Brave Jack. The first mayor of Beantown.'" she read, "Brave Jack? Oh, my god."

Ivy stumbled backwards and had to brace herself against a beanstalk. It couldn't be! It had to be just a coincidence! She must be completely nuts thinking that that could actually be a statue of the Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. It was just impossible! But what if it wasn't? Hadn't she always wished that there was another world, a story world, where adventures and magic existed? Hadn't she stayed up at night in the dark and wished with all her heart and soul that it was true, believed down to her very core that it had to be, that her mundane life wasn't all that there was? Maybe she had, in her wishfulness, been right! Ivy didn't know what she should do. Should she leap for joy, or stay on her guard for the inevitable danger that was always present in stories?

"Save the joy for later, Ivy." she told herself quietly and wished that she had some sort of weapon.

Oh, well. She would have to see how much karate she actually remembered. And how much fairy tale stuff, as well. If Jack and the Beanstalk were real here, what else was?

"Are you a troll?"

Ivy must have jumped three feet in the air at that small voice. She spun towards the sound. Seeing no one, she looked down. A little boy stood, half-hidden behind a beanstalk. His bright shining eyes peered out at her. Ivy was not a people person and even less of a kid person. She hated little kids! But something about this little boy melted her heart. She knelt on one knee so she was on more of a level with him and held out her hand. It didn't really occur to her what he had asked.

"No, no. Of course not. My name's Ivy." she said softly and was surprised at herself.

She sounded like a…a…kindergarten teacher! Or something. She was never this nice. Especially not to little kids. What was it about this little boy?

"Are you going to hurt me?" the little boy asked fearfully, drawing back farther behind the green stalk.

"No! Never! I promise. Cross my heart." Ivy said solemnly, crossing her heart, "You can come out. You're safe with me, I swear."

The little boy stepped cautiously out from behind the beanstalk. He sniffed when he was close to her and looked up at her.

"You smell good." he said.

"Uh…thanks." Ivy said uncertainly.

How do you respond to that? She decided to wing it. Maybe he could help her find her way back to Danielle and the others.

"Do you know where we are?" Ivy asked.

The boy nodded vigorously and flashed a charming smile.

"Of course! I'm very smart, really. The schoolteacher didn't think so, but I am. We're in the 3rd Kingdom. The Troll Kingdom." he said.

"Kingdom? What do you mean kingdom? Trolls?" Ivy asked. She shook her head, "I'm new here? Can you tell me more about this place?"

The boy started to nod, but sniffed again and cocked his head as if he heard something.

"We have to go!" he cried, grabbing Ivy's hand and pulling.

"What? Why?" Ivy asked, letting herself be pulled.

"The trolls are coming back!" he said in earnest, his eyes wide, "Hurry! We have to hide!"

Ivy cocked her head and now she could hear the sound of barking. She hurried after the boy. He dived under some thick bushes at the base of a beanstalk. Ivy hurried after him. She had to hold her breath, the smell was so strong there.

It wasn't long before the dogs came into sight. And with them….! Real Trolls! Ivy almost gasped. But that wasn't who she was. Instead she sized up the situation. Too many of them. They were armed. She could never fight them, especially not with the dogs. Her best bet was to stick with the little boy and hope they passed.

"Suck an elf! We'll never find those mangy wolves!" a rough voice said, too close for comfort.

"Yeah, we will! We have to!" another voice replied.

"When I find that wolf that took a bite out of me…I'll skin 'em alive!" a third declared.

Ivy winced at the comment. Poor wolf! She waited breathlessly for a few more long moments before the trolls and their dogs passed. She scooted back out from under the bush, sitting back on her butt and looking to the boy for explanations. He could only be about seven, but he seemed so…immature wasn't the right word. Just not mature. Kids in her world (was this a different world?) always seemed older than they were, made tough by their environment. This kid had that aura about him, but not the sense of being forced to act older than he was. Ivy's intuition told her that he had been through some tough times, but someone had taken care of him. She wondered if that someone was still around.

"Do you know somewhere safe?" she asked.

The boy paused. Then slowly nodded. He took her hand and led her from the bushes quickly, his pace getting faster the farther they went. Ivy didn't blame him. She wanted out of this area, too.


	8. Chapter 8

-1Virginia stopped, sinking down on a log to catch her breath. The journey hadn't seemed nearly this tough the first time. Maybe she was more pregnant than she thought. But how? She was only…had it been almost three months already?! Virginia looked down at herself and saw that she was beginning to show a lot! How could that be?! She still had a good six months and about a half to go. Or was there something different about carrying a part wolf baby that she didn't know about. She really needed Wolf. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. The idea, or rather the speculations about her baby just brought up more and more doubts. Would her baby have a tail? Virginia shook all her thoughts off. She could worry about that later. Now she had to find someplace to spend the night. She had only about another hour or so of daylight left.

Wolf froze, staying absolutely still. He held his breath as the border patrol guards stomped by. He had learned early what happened to a wolf caught by any of the queen's men. They hadn't spared him anything for being a little boy, they wouldn't now.

As soon as the two guards had passed, Wolf ran across the path towards the next patch of woods. But he hadn't counted on the Queen being there.

"**Stop!**"

Wolf stopped. He wasn't sure exactly why he stopped. Maybe it was just the force of the command. Wolf turned slowly to look up at the Queen's caravan. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He should never have run upwind where he couldn't smell whatever was coming. Well, it couldn't be helped now. Wolf adjusted his position a little to convey the right message and stared coolly over at the Queen's vanguard.

The guards surrounded Wolf, hands on their sword hilts. The Queen's carriage stopped in front of them.

"You!" a high voice cried in rage.

The door to the carriage was flung open and Red Riding Hood the 3rd climbed out. She straightened, fixing her already flawless skirts and brushing off the imaginary dirt of the outdoors.

"How dare you show your face in this kingdom!" she said, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Wolf shook his head.

"I don't…" he began.

"Silence, you flea-bitten wolf!" Riding Hood cut him off, "Thanks to you and that fool, Wendell all the wolves across my kingdom have gotten very uppity. Do you know how difficult they have become? I have to make runs out to these godforsaken places just to make sure that they all haven't run off into the 4th Kingdom!"

Wolf was thoroughly confused and it showed plainly.

"Don't play dumb with me! Wendell may have been stupid enough to fall for your tricks, but not me! You wolves think that you can run around the kingdoms and do as you please! Well, you've got another thing coming!"

"Your…uh…majesty, I don't know what you're talking about? Do you know me?" Wolf asked.

Riding Hood glared at him.

"Please. Don't even try to weasel out of this. Yes, I know you, Wolf. And now that you have wandered into my domain, you will pay."

Riding Hood whirled, making her red skirts flare out behind her and stamped her foot as she waited for someone to open the carriage door for her. When they did, she quickly got it.

"Bring him along. He will be taken back to the castle for questioning." her voice trailed out.

"What?! No! You don't understand! My Virginia….the witch! You have to let me go!" Wolf cried.

The guards grabbed his arms and began to drag him down the path.

"No!" Wolf cried again, struggling.

He began to growl and bare his teeth. One of the soldiers clubbed him over the head and he blacked out. The guards dragged him along after the Queen's carriage, back towards her castle.

"Uh…excuse me. Excuse me!" Danielle sighed in utter frustration.

No one would pay attention to her. Everyone was too busy. They gave her passing glances or stopped for a moment, then hurried on. She would never get any answers this way. She felt like she was going to scream.

"No, Danielle. You're okay. You're calm. There's a man over there by that well, you can ask him." she said to herself, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

Danielle strode through the crowd of villagers to the well.

"Hello." the man said, also with an accent.

"Hi." Danielle said uncertainly.

The man was missing a few teeth and looked a little grungy. Oh, well.

"Um…could you…?" she began.

"I'm the village idiot. And not just a half-wit, neither. I'm a complete idiot!" he said with much pride.

"Oh, good for you, then." Danielle said, unconsciously picking up an accent of her own.

Danielle had always had a thing for accents, especially British. Without knowing it, she had fallen back on it after hearing everyone else speaking with one, although there's were definitely not British.

"I'm in charge of the wishing well. The water's back on now, you know? People travel from all around to have things blessed right in this well. That's how we were able to get the village back running again so quick. You going to make a wish, then? It's bad luck not to." he said.

"I would. I really would. But I don't have any money on me, I don't think." Danielle said, searching her pockets.

She found a quarter and held it up.

"Will this work? Oh, what am I saying? Anything'll work, it's a wishing well." Danielle muttered to herself.

"What kind of money's that? That's not a Wendell." the village idiot said, peering at the quarter.

"A what? No, it's a quarter. From my…um…land." she said carefully.

"Oh! Alright, then. Make a wish." he said, moving aside and waiting expectantly.

Danielle stepped up next to the well and closed her eyes. She wished fervently for someone who could help her. Then she threw the quarter down into the well. She opened her eyes and leaned over to watch it. She could hear a faint whistling sound as it dropped and then a plunk. Danielle waited. Wasn't something supposed to happen now? No, of course not. It was just a silly trick to get people to waste their change.

Suddenly, there was a blurp from the well and shining lights flew up the well and onto Danielle. She jumped in surprise, but it was already over. Whatever that had been, it was gone.

"Your wish has been granted! Congratulations!" the village idiot said, grabbing her hand and pumping it vigorously.

Danielle wiggled her hand free.

"Oh, great. Hey, do you know where…" she began.

"I do!" a little voice said.

"What?" Danielle asked, turning around.

Something buzzed past her face. Her hand automatically swatted at it.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? I'm trying to help you!" the voice said angrily.

The something buzzed around her head, then alighted on Danielle's shoulder. Danielle turned her head to see…it was a fairy! Danielle stumbled back off the platform around the well. The fairy had to flap her wings and grab a hold of Danielle's hair to stay on her shoulder.

"Calm down. I'm just a fairy. I heard your wish and since I was closest, I responded. So." the fairy said, sitting down on her shoulder and getting comfortable, "What's your problem?"

"Are you serious?" Danielle asked in a whisper, looking around to see if anyone else had noticed her and the fairy.

The fairy saw what she was doing and raised her hand to get her attention.

"Don't worry. No one else can see me. Just you because it was your wish. Now, I can only help if I know the problem." she said.

Danielle looked at the fairy skeptically. She was covered in a leaf-like outfit. She had big, bright eyes and long silver hair. She had long, beautiful wings that were colored silver, blue, and green and sparkled almost magically. Her small face shown. Plus, she was getting impatient.

"Okay. But not here. I know I'm crazy, but these people don't have to." Danielle said quickly.

She started walking out of the village square and away from the people.

"I know a faster way." the fairy announced.

Before Danielle could even think of replying, there was a flash and a zap sound and the next thing Danielle knew she was out in one of the far fields around the village.

"Wow." Danielle breathed, "How'd you do that?"

"Fairy magic." she shrugged it off.

Danielle found a good spot and sat down, Indian-style. The fairy fluttered over to land on her knee.

"My name's Danielle." she said, thinking it would be best to start with names.

"My name is Breena." the fairy replied, "I'm a regular, garden-variety fairy. There's a lot of different kinds, you know. I'm sometimes called a forest fairy."

"Oh." Danielle said, "Well, the reason I wished for help is because I'm not from here. I'm from Earth. Phoenix, Arizona, to be exact. I have no idea what this place is or how to get back to that castle or find Ivy and Wolf and Virginia or anything. I don't even know where I am. I get that I'm in Little Lamb Village. And that that's in the 4th Kingdom. But what is the 4th Kingdom?"

The fairy nodded.

"The 10th Kingdom. You're like the Lady Virginia. I understand. You need a guide like Wolf was for her. This is going to be a long assignment, isn't it?" Breena mumbled. She cleared her throat and began, "First off, you are in what is known as the 9 Kingdoms. They were formed a long time ago. The first five were established by the 5 Women Who Changed History. They are Snow White, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Gretel, and Rapunzel. Cinderella is the only one still alive and she is over 200 years old."

"Hold it. You mean this is a fairy tale land?" Danielle asked in disbelief.

"Well, yes." Breena nodded.

Danielle's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open.

"I…I…" she stumbled.

Breena nodded.

"The idea will take some getting used to. You'll adjust. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Later, the other 4 Kingdoms were formed and the borders have changed a little, but that's basically how they have stayed. We didn't learn until recently of the 10th Kingdom. Not until the incident with the Evil Queen. But that's a long tale. These villages, Little Lamb Villages, were founded by Little Bo Peep herself. Most of the Peep's used to live in this very village, but after the discovery of how they had stolen the well water, they were driven out of town. Again, not relevant right now. The castle? You must mean Wendell's castle, right?" the fairy paused for Danielle to nod, "I would take you there immediately, but fairy magic isn't that long range. Only short hops. You'll have to go on foot." Breena finished.

"Alright. And you're going to be my guide?" Danielle asked slowly.

"Yep. Looks like it." Breena nodded again.

Ivy was getting out of breath and that familiar pain in her knee had returned in force. It wasn't long before the boy broke into a run and Ivy had to run after him. Before her numerous knee injuries she had been a great runner, but know it just made her knee explode with pain. She couldn't go very far, very fast. The boy was _very_ fast and didn't seem to tire. Ivy was thanking her lucky stars when he slowed down and finally stopped.

They were out of the beanstalks and back into a woods of some sort. The boy was looking around and sniffing again.

"What is it?" Ivy asked.

The boy didn't answer. Instead he took off in another direction. Ivy rubbed her knee, then followed. She prayed it wouldn't be far. She was so busy with her silent prayers and her knee pains that she wasn't looking where she was going and was caught by surprise when someone caught her around the waist and pulled her to a stop.

"Woah, stop." the guy who had stopped her said.

Ivy jerked free of his arms and backed up, on her guard. She brought up her hands into a semi-ready position in case she had to fight.

"Who're you?" she demanded.

"My name's Faolan. You found my little brother, Randal. Thanks. I knew the trolls were coming. I was worried about him." he replied, "I would have gone after him, but the bean stalk smell completely covered his scent. I never would have found him in time."

Ivy saw the little boy peek out from behind his older brother at her. She smiled at him and relaxed.

"Sorry, I just…" she tried to explain.

"It's alright." Faolan nodded, understanding.

He looked her over as she was doing him. He had dark hair, like his little brother. But the little boy had bright blue eyes. Faolan had almost golden brown ones. Like a wolf's, she thought absently. He flashed a smile at her and his eyes flashed as well.

"What were you doing in that area anyway? Are you lost?" he asked and Ivy felt compelled to answer as best she could and didn't know why.

"Yes. I…well, I don't know anything about this place, really. I'm not from around here. Anywhere around here." Ivy replied, spreading her arms to encompass this whole world or whatever it was.

Faolan looked a little confused.

"So you don't know where you are? What this place is? What we are?" he asked.

Ivy shook her head.

"Your brother told me that we're in the 3rd Kingdom, but where is that? What's this land called?" Ivy asked.

Faolan started to explain, but cast a glance back at the area where they had come from and decided to move along.

"Come on. I'll explain on the way. It's not too safe around here." he said, taking his brother's hand and leading the way.

Ivy hurried to catch up. The two brothers could set a pretty fast pace, that was for sure! Ivy turned over her situation in her mind. And she had to say, she wasn't not pleased with it.

Wait a minute! Had Faolan said _what_ we are? What was that supposed to mean? Now she had to know.

"What do you mean, what you are?" Ivy demanded.

Faolan looked a little hesitant to tell her.

"I don't really care, you know. You guys are the only thing between me and being lost with those trolls. I'm not going to hold anything against you." she added quickly.

That seemed to make Faolan a little happier. Still he was slow to speak.

"My brother and I,…well, we're part wolf." he said slowly and watched her closely for her reaction.

"Part what?" Ivy asked.

Maybe she hadn't heard right.

"Part wolf." Faolan repeated, "But huff-puff, don't think that just because we're part wolf that we…"

Ivy noticed absently that he seemed rather defensive. At least, on this subject anyway.

"No, no. I just…I've never met anyone who was part wolf before. I mean, how…? What?" Ivy sighed in frustration, "Are you like werewolves or what? What makes you part wolf? I'm sorry. I shouldn't pry. Just ignore me."

Ivy berated herself for even asking. She could see that Faolan was uncomfortable with the subject. She shouldn't have pressed it. But…could he really be part wolf?

Randal tapped her hand and she looked over at him. He pulled something around from behind him and Ivy saw it was a tail!

"This does. And other things." he said quietly.

Ivy's eyes widened in surprise and for the first time in her life she thought she might faint. She stumbled and felt herself dropping to the ground. She closed her eyes, trying to figure all this out and force herself to keep moving. Someone caught her and lowered her more gently onto the grass.

Without opening her eyes, Ivy said, "I'm sorry. It's just, I've never…no one in my world has a tail!"

There was no reply. Ivy spent the next moment trying to remember the stories she had read when she was younger. Hadn't the wolves in Grimm's fairy tales been able to talk and such. Maybe wolves here weren't the same as wolves on Earth. Ivy opened her eyes. The more she thought it over the more it started to make some kind of sense. And the more she came to like the idea. A tail would be useful for running, wouldn't it? Providing balance and such. And from the way that Randal had been sniffing earlier, he could probably follow his brother's scent. That was probably one of the most useful things. She'd be willing to bet anything that their other senses were better than hers were, too. And had Faolan said huff-puff? One of Ivy's favorite things about acting and stories and make-believe things was getting to say things that you don't normally get to say. And who normally gets to say huff-puff? Part wolves, apparently.

"Are you alright?" Randal asked.

He was sitting near her and looking at her. His brother stood a few paces away, like he expected her to leave now, trolls or no trolls.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. I just needed a moment to think all this through." Ivy said truthfully.

"Do you hate us now? A lot of people hate us." Randal said.

"What? No!" Ivy smiled to prove it and messed up Randal's hair, "You know, I'll bet you and your brother over there can smell a troll coming for half a mile, huh?"

"I could! I've got a really good nose." Randal told her proudly.

"Uh huh. That's what I thought. And I'll bet either one of you could run across this kingdom or whatever and not trip once with that tail to balance you. Am I right?" this time she looked over at Faolan.

"Yes. Probably." he admitted stiffly.

"And you know what? I think that those people who hate you are just jealous." Ivy finished, turning back to Randal.

"Really?" he asked hopefully.

"Yep." Ivy nodded, "Now, could one of you give me a hand getting up? My knee is killing me."

Faolan gave her a hand. Ivy brushed herself off, but stopped when she felt him staring at her. She looked up at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Did you say all that for Randal or do you mean it?" he asked quietly so his brother wouldn't hear.

"I meant it. If I ran off just now, don't tell me you couldn't find my scent and track me down in seconds. That's a useful skill." Ivy said, then grinned, "Besides, I've never met anyone who could chase their own tail before."

At that Faolan grinned and laughed.

"You should see Randal." he said.

"What?" Randal's head shot up, "What'd I do?"

"Nothing." Faolan said in that big brother, 'I'm humoring you' voice that was kind of sing-songy.

Ivy had heard that voice too often at her own home. She decided to side with Randal. One of her own personal favorite activities at home was being a double agent in the household.

"He said you chase your tail." she reported.

"I do not!" Randal protested.

Faolan smiled at his brother's protest. Ivy was glad. It seemed she had remedied that situation. That was new for her. She was more used to screwing them up. Faolan transferred his smile to her and she couldn't help, but smile back.

"You know, I'll bet I could teach you to be a wolf." he said.

Ivy cocked her head a little, intrigued.

"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?" she asked.

"Well, first off, wolves learn better on the move or safe in their den. So let's get moving! If we can get to the River by nightfall, we'll have made some progress. Then, tomorrow we can cross into the 4th Kingdom." Faolan said.

Ivy nodded as if she understood.

"Second, wolves always watch where they're going." he said teasingly.

"Hey! You know, for some reason, I doubt that." she said and started walking at a brisk pace.

Her knee did hurt, but if she kept her mind off it, she could almost forget that it did.

Faolan followed her. Randal took it upon himself to run ahead and be the group's own little scout. Ivy could tell by the sky that there wasn't much day left. She hoped the river was close by.

Virginia curled up on the ground. She was cold and tired and hungry. And lonely. She wanted her Wolf. Why did these things keep happening to her? Wasn't one go with an evil witch enough? Why was fate so determined to make her life difficult?

"Don't fret, sweet lady

And have no fear for your baby.

The daddy will return to you

Never fear, for this is true."

"Thanks, ring." Virginia mumbled.

She pillowed her head on her hands and tried to believe in what the ring had said. She fell asleep and dreamt of good times far away from evil witches with Wolf and their baby boy.

Ivy looked over at Faolan again. He was staring at her. She had to admit, she didn't mind the attention. All the guys she knew from work and school were either jerks, geeks, or just friends. Sometimes all three. Faolan _was_ cute. That, too, she had to admit.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." he said, shaking his head, but still staring at her.

He was staring at her so intently that he walked right into a tree. Ivy burst out laughing so hard, she was doubled over and her breath came in squeaks.

"I thought…wolves…always watched where they were going." she said in between laughing.

Faolan scowled at the tree, as if mad at it for getting in the way. He looked at her and smiled that way people do when they don't think it's funny.

"Oh, ha ha. That was all your fault, you know." he said, walking again, but angling around the tree.

Ivy jerked upright.

"What? How so? I didn't do anything!" she protested.

"I would have been paying attention to the path if you weren't so…" he broke off quickly.

Ivy stared at him.

"What?" she asked.

Faolan shook his head and ran to catch up to Randal. Ivy followed. If he had been about to say pretty or anything along that line he was wrong. Ivy had always been quick to point out faults, mainly her own.

Ivy shook her head. She needed another distraction. She rummaged through her backpack, looking for that apple. She was getting hungry from all of this. She pulled out her CD player as well. The CD player had cost her a bunch of money, but it was brand new and was the best one she could find. It had AM/FM radio and didn't skip and all other kinds of added gizmos. Her favorite feature was that you could take out the headphones and press a button and it would play out loud like a stereo.

Ivy pressed the open button and looked to see what CD was inside. Sherrie Austin. Second CD, the one called "Love in the Real World". Her current situation made it impossible not for her to play the title track.

She looked up to see Randal and Faolan had both stopped and looked back at her. Ivy smiled. This song was just too ironic in this situation. Parts of it, anyway.

"She's a mother and a working woman.

He sweats 9 to 5 with big dreams in his head.

There's too much month at the end of the money.

Wolf's at the door and the bankbook's in the red.

Guess every fairy tale has a monster underneath the bed.

Whatever happened to the Prince and Cinderella, that wide-eyed boy and girl?

What happens after happy ever after? Love in the real world." Ivy sang along and couldn't help, but grin.

"What is that?" Faolan asked over the continuing music.

"My CD player." Ivy said. She saw he didn't understand, "It plays these little discs called CD's and makes music."

"How does it know about Queen Cinderella?" Randal asked, reaching up a tentative hand to touch the CD player.

"Back on my world we call all the stories about this place fairy tales. Like I know the story of Snow White because I read those stories and so does the lady singing. But the stories stop after the bit with her stepmother. We don't know that they were real. We think that they are just made up." Ivy explained.

"Your world?" Faolan asked.

He had explained about the 9 Kingdoms while they were walking, but she had not explained about Earth.

"I came through a…well, a mirror to this place. I followed this dog that, apparently, is King Wendell of the 4th Kingdom. We were fighting a bad witch when she did a spell that sent me out into the beanstalks. I don't know what happened to my friends." Ivy explained.

"You're from the 10th Kingdom?!" Faolan cried, "Cripes! I mean, huff-puff, I can't believe it!"

Faolan started pacing and muttering to himself. Ivy didn't catch a lot of what he said. Something about how what had happened to Wolf was now happening to him.

Ivy stopped the CD.

"Problem?" she asked quietly.

Faolan looked up at her like he'd never seen her before.

"We have to go back to the castle. You must defeat that witch." Faolan said with finality, "It's what Virginia did, so you must, too. I wonder if we can stop at Kissingtown, too. No! No, we have to get to Wendell's Castle."

"What? You've lost me." Ivy said, confused.

"We'll stay here for the night and move on in the morning. No fire, it might attract trolls and that's the last thing we need. Randal, can you find a good spot to sleep for the three of us? Good. I'll catch something for us to eat." Faolan growled a little as he thought and pawed at an itchy spot on his nose, "Ivy, come with me?"

Ivy nodded. She shucked her backpack and set it down near Randal.

"Watch this for me?" she asked quickly.

Randal nodded.

"Thanks." she said and hurried after Faolan.

Once they were out of Randal's hearing range, Ivy said what was on her mind.

"Did I do something wrong? You seem…?" she shrugged, unsure of the right word.

"No! Huff, it's just that…Wolf and Virginia almost died many times. It was a very dangerous journey. I'm worried about Randal. But I can't pass up this chance." Faolan growled again in frustration.

"What happened to Wolf and Virginia?" Ivy asked.

"You don't know? Oh, no, you wouldn't. You're from the 10th Kingdom. I'll explain later, after we catch something. I always do better on a full stomach."

"Mmmm. Me, too." Ivy agreed.

Faolan looked at her again and there was an expression on his face that Ivy couldn't name. He smiled again.

"You fit in perfectly." he told her.

"Thanks."

Wolf jerked and spluttered as water was thrown on him. He opened his eyes in a panic, looking around quickly. He struggled to his feet. He was in Riding Hood's reception room or something of the like. She was seated on a throne in front of him with guards on either side. A skinny man in a ridiculous outfit stood at her arm, glaring at him. There were more guards surrounding him. One had a bucket, which the water had come from. Wolf discovered his hands were chained.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes still darting about the room, "You have to let me go right away."

"I give the orders here, animal." Riding Hood said coolly, "Do you know why I have brought you here?"

"No."

"Liar! Are you as stupid as that, not to have figured it out? Every since that ludicrous decree of Wendell's pardoning wolves, they have been flocking to the borders, trying to get into the 4th Kingdom. I've had to triple the guard. And it's all because of you! My kingdom is in an upheaval. Plus, a new evil queen has surfaced and who do I find? You. Has this become routine for you?" Riding Hood asked.

"If you think that I'm somehow involved with the witch, you've got it all wrong! She put a spell on me…" Wolf tried to explain.

"So you admit it! You have been in contact with her!" Riding Hood cried, sitting up in her seat and pointing an accusing hand at him.

"No, no! Huff-puff, you don't understand!" Wolf cried, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu to the trial in Little Lamb Village.

"Have I? I don't believe so. Are you getting all of this, Weylin?" the Queen said to the scribe at her side.

He nodded and continued to write fervently on the scroll in his hands.

Wolf shook his head emphatically.

"No! You see, my Virginia's out there somewhere and she needs me! I have to…" Wolf began again.

"Virginia?! The Evil Queen's daughter from the 10th Kingdom? Yes, Wendell was a fool dealing with her as well. She's a nice enough girl, but with that blood in her veins and with no sense in her skull…" Riding Hood made 'tsk' sounds and shook her head, "I suppose she didn't know any better than to trust a wolf like you, but still. Ah, me. Wendell is not fit at all to rule his kingdom. I believe I will call a meeting of the counsel. Wendell himself did not pass the tests and he hasn't shown himself to be the best king. If this proceeds I think someone else may have to take the task of ruling Wendell's kingdom."

Wolf shook his head some more. This couldn't be happening. The House of Red wasn't known for having the best timing when it came to predicaments like this. Riding Hood was just adding to the tradition.

"You have no idea what you're doing." Wolf said, "Why do you even care? I thought you hated wolves. Why keep them in your kingdom?"

"Because, if they all go to Wendell's kingdom there will be an overflow of all the vermin that your kind keep down. Plus, as much as I am disgusted by it, they are part of the economy. If I let Wendell have them, they will take part of this kingdom with them. Whatever you wolves think of me, I am not an idiot." Riding Hood said, "Now. What to do about our little wolf friend? Lance, any suggestions?"

A guard near her with a few more ribbons on his uniform and a fancier hat took a step forward. He glanced at Wolf in contempt.

"I think we should make an example of him for those other wolves." he said and the way he said it left no room for speculation on what kind of example would be made, "We could put him on the border for those wolves to see."

Riding Hood thought it over. Wolf began to get even more panicked.

"You can't do this!"

The comment stirred Riding Hood's anger.

"I can and will! You wolves should learn to keep your mouths' shut!" Riding Hood snapped, her eyes flaring.

Wolf knew that he was really in for it this time. What he wanted to do was break free and tackle the Queen and scare her out of her wits. Make her understand what he had went through when his parents had been killed and she had let them. It was her ordinance that let wolves be burned or shot or maimed or tortured. Those thoughts just fueled Wolf's rage. And he knew that to do that would get him killed immediately. He couldn't get killed. He just couldn't. He had Virginia and the baby to think about. Not to mention that he still had to stop that witch. So instead Wolf switched tactics and as much as it sickened him, he tried to charm the Queen.

"I apologize, your majesty. You are right. We wolves, it's just one of our faults that we can't seem to hold our tongues." Wolf said in his most charming and persuasive voice, flashing his eyes at the Queen.

"Too true." she agreed with a nod.

"One of many, I'm afraid. If your majesty sees fit to be rid of me, then so be it. But I had another proposition in mind."

"Yes?" Riding Hood asked, leaning forward.

Wolf took a few steps closer and flashed his best smile at her. He could see it was working.

"Well, I'm sure your majesty would love to get her hands on some of those wolves that are making her life, as well as all 2nd Kingdomers', miserable. " Wolf paused, timing his speech perfectly.

"Yes, yes." the Queen urged, just as she was supposed to.

"I propose that I could first rid the Queen of that pesky witch in the 4th Kingdom that keeps sending those awful threatening letters, then I could go and find out exactly which wolves would need to be brought to justice for the rest of the packs to be put in line. I would send a message to the Queen giving the exact information needed for her to be rid of her little wolf problem." Wolf said, lowering his voice so the Queen had to lean forward to hear.

She sat back once she had heard and turned the idea over. Wolf made an elegant wave of his arm to regain her attention. He didn't need her thinking, he just needed her to agree. He turned the wave into a deep bow.

"But if the Queen does not like my proposal I'm sure she can deal with that problem on her own…" Wolf said, turning as if to walk away.

The Queen held up a hand and Wolf stopped.

"No. I believe…your way would be more expedient. Fine, Wolf. Your request is granted. But if this has been just a rouse to save your filthy hide, I assure you that my men will track you down and kill you, even if they have to drag you out of your Virginia's arms to do it. And if they happen to find any little wolf mongrels, I'll have them do away with them, too. Am I clear?" the Queen asked in a dangerously cold voice.

"Oh, yes, your majesty!" Wolf agreed, bowing again, "Have no fear. You have my complete and solemn wolf word. And a wolf always keeps his word."

"So you say." the Queen allowed with an incline of her head.

"If you would be so kind as to have these removed," Wolf said, holding up his chained hands, "I will be on my way."

The Queen nodded to her guards and they unchained Wolf. Wolf rubbed his wrists and then the bump on his head. He bowed a final time to the Queen and hurried from the castle. He had lost so much time! He would have to travel all night.

Wolf was soon out of the castle and into the woods. He took off at a run, determined to make up for the delay. It was already getting dark, the sun was almost completely set. He would have to hurry.

Back at the castle, Lance, the Queen's captain of the guards approached her. He knelt on one knee, bowing.

"Lance?" she questioned.

He rose from his position, inclining his head to her in added respect.

"Was that wise, your majesty? Wolves are known liars." he said.

"Yes, but wolves are also only animals. And very protective of their families. He will do as he said. I know that wolf. Even if he doesn't remember me, he knows that I, too, am always true to my word." the Queen said quietly.

Lance bowed again.

"As you say, my Queen." he said.


	9. Chapter 9

-1Danielle was having a little trouble following this fairy. She just kept flitting off and Danielle would lose track of her. Then, she'd have to stop and call out until Breena came back. It was making both of them pretty impatient.

"Would you just wait up?" Danielle cried, running after the fairy.

"You humans are too slow." Breena said, "If you can't keep up, you'll never get back to Wendell's castle in time."

Danielle stopped, wishing her hands were small enough to strangle the stupid fairy with.

"Why don't you just ride on my shoulder or something and tell me which way to go." Danielle suggested through gritted teeth.

"Oh, alright." Breena relented and buzzed back to land on her shoulder.

Danielle began walking again in the direction that she had been pointed in. She was all too glad to leave that idiot by the well and those stupid, giggling shepherdesses behind. Danielle glanced up at the sky and saw that the sun was already setting.

"I suppose that since I'm so slow, I should walk all night, too." Danielle said and couldn't keep the annoyance out of her voice.

Breena considered it.

"No, best not. You'll need all the strength you've got when you get back to Wendell's castle. That might be pushing you too hard." she said.

Danielle wanted to open her mouth and give some kind of smart remark back, but didn't. She could travel all night, but that didn't mean she wanted to. Let the stupid fairy think what she wanted.

"Is there a safe place to sleep here? Should I be worried about any native animals or anything?" Danielle asked tiredly.

"Mmmm, mildly. Always best to be cautious. This forest used to be very dangerous, but since the Huntsman is gone, I think we should be safe. Gypsies have probably returned. Wolves, too. And others." the fairy broke into a yawn, "Just find a spot where you won't be easily visible and you should be okay. I'm a light sleeper, don't worry."

Breena's yawn was infectious. Danielle yawned, too, covering her mouth with her hand. She moved off the path and into the woods a little ways. She found a reasonably comfortable looking space in between the roots of a tree and settled down. Danielle tried to find a position that was comfortable enough to sleep in. She finally settled into a position where she was leaning against an exceptionally big root with her head on her arms. Breena stretched out on a nearby fern and promptly fell asleep with a little sigh. Danielle soon followed her.

Ivy had been a little surprised at the way Faolan had caught that rabbit, but she hadn't commented. One way was as good as another was, she supposed. He was a wolf, after all. But when he had held the rabbit up in front of his face and growled at it, she had started getting fidgety. It was unnerving. She had wondered why he had kept it alive in the first place. Ivy wasn't exactly the fidgety type. She gutted her own fish when she went fishing and such. It didn't bother her. But this was starting to.

"I've never liked rabbits." he said to her, but without even looking at her, "Look at the way she's mocking me! She knows what I think of her, she does. Grrrrrr, mocking little fluff-ball."

Faolan shook himself and looked at Ivy, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. It's just…I'm so hungry." he said, glancing at the rabbit again.

He shook his head and dragged his eyes away. He shoved the rabbit at Ivy.

"Here, take it. I can't stand it anymore." he said.

Ivy took a firm hold of the rabbit and kept it away from Faolan. Her brain couldn't come up with a single thing that she could say after that little episode. Although, she had to agree a little with him. She had always thought rabbits had a bit of evil to them. And they did seem to mock you, sometimes. She had been scratched bloody by a rabbit before and it hadn't seemed the least bit sorry.

"Um…how are we going to cook this?" she asked quietly.

Faolan's eyes widened as if he had forgotten that.

"Cook it! Um…well…?" he didn't seem to have an answer.

Ivy had the sickening suspicion that he had planned to eat it raw. She forced the feeling down. He was a wolf. That's what wolves did. She watched National Geographic. It had never bugged her before.

"Yes, Ivy, but that's not exactly the same situation." she said to herself under her breath.

"What?" Faolan asked.

"Nothing." Ivy shook her head, "You know, I'm really not that hungry. I'll just eat some of the jerky in my backpack, okay?"

Faolan seemed surprised.

"You must be hungry! I could hear your stomach growling!" he insisted. He shook his head again, "Nevermind. I'm sorry. I forgot that you don't…well, that humans…"

He gave up and tried to convey the message to her silently. She nodded.

"It's okay. Really. I can live off jerky. I almost did one summer." she said and smiled at her own private joke.

By now, they had returned to their own little camp. Randal had arranged everything nicely. He had cleared all the brush and rocks from the area so they could sleep there comfortably. He had set Ivy's backpack against a tree stump. Ivy wondered with amusement if he had looked through it. Randal saw that they were back and jumped up from his spot on the ground. He looked at the rabbit and Ivy could tell that he had no opposition to eating it raw either. Ivy didn't think she really wanted to be around to watch that.

"Um…I'm just going to go…and…well, give you two some privacy for a little. Be right back." Ivy said, taking up her backpack and backing off into the woods.

Faolan glanced after her with a strange look on his face. Randal seemed confused. The little boy shrugged and turned back to the rabbit. Ivy quickened her step and walked a good distance away. Now that she was alone, Ivy sighed deeply. There was just too much going on. Too much to think about and try to make sense of.

"No more making sense of things, Ivy." she said to herself, "Just doing. From now on, you're going to have to go on your instincts."

Ivy sat down on a log and pulled her backpack into her lap. She pulled out the bag of jerky and popped a piece in her mouth. She chewed, savoring the taste. It was her favorite kind: teriyaki. Ivy pulled out her brush and brushed out the ever-present tangles. For some reason, brushing her hair always calmed her down. She liked to brush her hair, as stupid as that sounded. It made it all soft and nice. Ivy pulled out a ponytail and quickly did up her hair. It would make it easier to brush out in the morning if it was in a ponytail while she slept. Next, Ivy dug out the books that were in her backpack. In all that had happened, she forgot which ones she had put in there.

"Oh, my god." Ivy breathed.

Now, if this wasn't too strange to be a coincidence, she didn't know what was. The library book was a book on wolves. She remembered now that she had been reading up on wolves for a report in one of her classes. They had gotten to choose the topic and she had decided to do wolves. Well, if that wasn't the all time most ironic thing… What was the other book? This one she had bought at a used bookstore. It was about a girl dumped on a planet with a bunch of people and a few aliens. It was good so far. Ivy was in the long-standing habit of being a thorough bookworm. She had to read every night or she almost couldn't fall asleep.

It was nice to be alone for a while. Although she really liked Randal and Faolan's company. She had been lucky to run into them.

After a good amount of time, Ivy headed back. She stopped and listened before going back into camp. All traces of the rabbit were gone. That though sent a small shudder through Ivy's spine, but she quelled it.

"Have a nice dinner?" she asked in a light voice.

"Oh, yes." Randal nodded, his eyes gleaming.

"That's good." Ivy nodded.

The sun had already set and the stars would soon come out. Ivy, for one, was tired. She looked around, trying to figure out where she should sleep.

"Oh!" Faolan cried, realizing what she was doing and jumping to his feet.

He took off his overcoat and spread it out on a patch of grass. He motioned for Ivy to sleep there. Ivy shook her head.

"You don't have to…" she began.

"Sure, I do. Besides, I'm not cold. Now don't argue. You're probably exhausted. Get some sleep. You, too, Randal." Faolan called over to his brother.

Randal groaned, but curled up on the ground. Ivy followed his example and laid down on Faolan's coat. He watched her, nodding with approval. He turned and moved off a pace, then sat down and leaned back against a tree. He folded his arms across his chest and got comfortable. Ivy propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.

"You're not going to sleep?" she asked with concern.

Faolan looked at her and the way he looked at her made her want to sigh. It was kind of comforting to have him close by, watching over her, them while they slept. Still, he needed sleep, too.

"Don't worry about me. I'll get some sleep." he assured her.

Ivy relented. She was really too tired to argue, anyway. She slipped her arms out of her jacket and drew it over her like a blanket. Curled up under it, with her head on her arm, she fell asleep.

Faolan smiled at her sleeping form. He really hadn't anticipated this. But he was by no means unhappy with the situation. If Wolf had found a mate in a 10th Kingdomer, he could, too. Although, he wasn't so sure that he would be able to pull it off. He was no hero like Wolf. Faolan shook his head.

"You're chasing chickens before they hatch." he told himself, "Slow down."

Maive, Tony, and Cinnamon entered the castle on the other side of the mirror. They hadn't been there twenty seconds when Wendell was jumping on Tony, looking panicked.

"Hey, boy. I mean, Wendell." Tony said, petting him on the head, "Sorry about that whole being under a spell thing. Wasn't my fault, you know. Where's Virginia and them?"

Wendell dropped to all fours and turned in a circle. He obviously wanted to tell them something, but couldn't.

"Let me see if I can help with this." Maive said, rolling up her sleeves.

She was feeling a lot more confidant with her spell casting after the last go. Maybe she would be able to return King Wendell to his former state.

"Dog that is not a dog

Be what you are

King receive your crown.

Let no spell it mar." Maive chanted.

She gathered magic in her hands and pointed it at Wendell. There was a flash.

"Great, Maive. Now we have a royal dog." Tony said bitterly.

Wendell was now dressed royally. He had a crown on his head and a royal cloak. But he was still a dog. He barked and the bark showed clear annoyance.

"Hmmm. Must have been the wording. Let me try again." Maive said, thinking quickly, "Okay, I've got it.

'Your true form that is not.

Change from that body, I bid thee.

Change to the form worthy of the crown.

So mote it be."

There was another flash. This time there was no dog. But in its place was a frog.

"You turned him into a toad!" Tony cried.

"A frog is worthy of the crown?" Cinnamon asked.

"Oh, that's not right." Maive said in dismay, "One more try, I'll get it right this time, I promise!"

"Oh, no! You're likely to turn him into a troll or something." Tony said, picking up the frog that was Wendell.

Amazingly, he still wore the crown and cloak. Although, they were now frog-size. Wendell didn't look too happy.

"Can you at least do a spell so we can figure out what happened? So he can talk to us?" Tony asked.

"I think I remember a communication spell from training." Maive said, "Right.

'Let the tongue speak true

In a way that we can understand.

This I bid you do.

Speak thee the language of this land."

"You idiot!" the frog raged, "You turned me into a frog! In the name of Snow White and Cinderella, you are the most…"

"It worked!" Tony interrupted him, "Wendell, what happened to Virginia and Wolf and those two girls?"

Wendell calmed down momentarily.

"Well, they told me to stay here, but I peeked out to watch. I saw Virginia run out in front of the witch and then kind of freeze. The witch was talking, but I couldn't hear her. Then, Wolf ran over and yelled, 'That's not true!' and the witch sent him flying into a table. Then, those two girls started talking to her and she flung magic at them, but they deflected it. They must be witches, too. But then, the witch did another spell and they all disappeared." Wendell finished with a croak.

"So you don't know where they are?" Cinnamon asked.

"No, I'm afraid not." Wendell said.

"They could be anywhere!" Tony cried.

"I could try scrying." Maive offered.

"Haven't you screwed up enough for one day?" Tony snapped.

Maive recoiled slightly. She was used to Tony's complaining and bitterness, but his remark had hit a soft spot. She had always been touchy about her talent. She hadn't been the best of pupils in the Council. She had really been proud of herself today and Tony had just shot her down.

"Tony," Cinnamon growled, "she is probably our only way of finding them. Unless you plan on waltzing out there and asking the witch?"

Tony glared at her angrily, but gave up and shrugged.

"Fine! What do I care? Do what you want. You two can gang up on me all you want. I know Wendell's on my side. Right, Wendy?" Tony asked.

"Actually, Anthony. I think we should let her have one more try. She may be a complete incompetent, but she _is_ our only hope." Wendell said with a much cooler head than earlier.

"Thanks…I think." Maive said slowly.

"Quiet!" Cinnamon announced suddenly, motioning at all of them.

She moved to the doors and put her head against them.

"Someone's coming! Turn off the mirror and let's hide." Cinnamon said quickly.

Maive turned off the mirror and they all dived into various hiding places, Tony keeping Wendell with him.

A few moments later, the doors to the room were flung open and Marissa entered trailed by a pair of guards. She looked around the room and her eyes lit up.

"Well, well, well." she said, "Thank you, Wendell."

She walked over to the first mirror and ran her hands along the edges.

"A spying mirror. Useful. So much more efficient than scrying. A travel mirror. This must be the only one of its kind still working! Oh, this is wonderful." she said as she surveyed the mirrors. She turned to the two guards, "Watch this room closely. Keep constant track of these mirrors. I want the traveling mirror to remain on in case Tony and Cinnamon return. Notify me immediately of any change."

"Yes, ma'am." they both bowed.

"That's 'my queen' to you two." Marissa said with a glint of anger.

"Yes, my queen." they both amended quickly.

"Good." Marissa said with a nod and exited the room.

The moment the doors closed behind her, Cinnamon sprang out of hiding and jumped one of the guards. Tony saw what she was doing and hurried over to help her. He grabbed a decoration off the wall and hit the other guard over the head with it. Both guards were soon unconscious.

"Let's get out of here." Cinnamon said.

Tony nodded his agreement. Since he knew the way best, he led the group out into the hallway and to another room with a low balcony. They slipped inside, then through the room, and climbed over the balcony to drop to the ground outside. The three took off, running away from the castle before they could be seen.

Wolf navigated the forests carefully, using all of his wolf capabilities. No more delays. No more mistakes. Just tracking and finding Virginia. Wolf crossed the border into the 4th Kingdom with no resistance. He started sniffing, looking for scents, straining his nose as much as he could. He had one of the best senses of smell in all the 9 Kingdoms and he used all of it. He couldn't find Virginia's scent, though. He was about to turn and head farther into the 4th Kingdom ( he sensed that she had to lie in that direction) when another scent caught his attention. It was one of the girls! Danielle, if he remembered right. She was close, in the woods somewhere. Wolf was glad she was in the woods. They were close to Little Lamb Village and he was in no hurry to revisit that place. Wolf picked up the scent and started after it. She wasn't alone, he could tell that as well. Although, who she was with he wasn't sure at this distance. That particular scent wasn't strong enough. Hers was, and he could tell that she was a little scared. And something else, something that wasn't the same as when he had first smelled her. He didn't know what.

It was getting close to dawn when Wolf finally found her. She was fast asleep, curled up next to a tree root. The other scent was strong enough now for Wolf to know that her companion was a fairy. He looked around and finally spotted the little thing sleeping on a fern shoot. Wolf took a step closer, kneeling to shake Danielle awake. The noise awakened the fairy and she flitted over in a hurry, ready to defend her sleeping friend. Wolf motioned to her to wait, that he meant no harm. She stopped, hovering in mid-air and considered him. Then, she recognized him as Wolf, the half-wolf that had helped to save the 9 Kingdoms! She started buzzing around excitedly.

"Danielle. Wake up." Wolf said softly, turning back to her.

He gave her a gentle shake. Danielle groaned and waved at him to go away.

"No. Huff-puff, you have to wake up now. I need to talk to you." Wolf insisted, shaking her harder.

Danielle covered her face with her arm and turned away from him. She was set on not waking up. It was too early anyway. Her internal clock told her as much. Although, according to her, any time was too early if it was before 9:00 AM.

Wolf gave her a hard shake and forced her into a sitting position. Danielle blinked at him in surprise.

"Wolf?" she asked sleepily.

Wolf nodded.

"Yep. Come on, get up. We need to get going. Apparently the witch scattered us across the kingdoms. We have to find Virginia." Wolf said, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.

"And Ivy." Danielle added.

Wolf nodded again. Yes, yes. And Ivy, too, of course.

Danielle rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tried to get her brain to work. That was really hard to do. It didn't like to work ever when she was fully awake.

"But…how did you find me?" she asked.

"I smelled you." Wolf shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the sky to see what time it was.

"You did what?" Danielle asked.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't explain to her yet about wolves." Breena said, flitting in between them, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Wolf. I'm Breena. I came in response to her wish."

Wolf was getting very anxious. They needed to get moving and find Virginia as soon as possible.

"Yes, yes. You, too." he said hurriedly, "Can we talk on the go?"

Danielle stretched out her sore muscles and followed after Wolf as he began walking back towards the path. She had to jog to catch up to him. Breena landed in her position on her shoulder and began explaining about wolves.

"You know the story of Red Riding Hood, right?" Breena asked.

Danielle nodded and grimaced.

"Hated that story. The poor wolf!" Danielle commented.

Wolf smiled slightly at that comment, but didn't turn around or say anything.

"Well, wolves in the 9 Kingdoms like the one in the story can walk and talk just like people." Breena tried to explain.

"Wolves are people. Just not humans." Wolf interrupted.

"Okay, just like humans." she amended, "Well, anyway, full-blooded wolves tend to stay in wolf form. It's easier for them. But they can change to a kind of human. They still have some wolf parts, like a tail, for example. Wolf here, is a half wolf. There are a growing number of them across the kingdoms. They are more like full-blooded wolves in human form. Only they can only change to wolf form during the full moon. At least, that's the only time that they do."

Danielle stared at Wolf's back in an emotion that was kind of like disbelief mixed with shock.

"So one of your parents is a wolf?" Danielle asked.

"Was." Wolf corrected stiffly.

"Sorry." Danielle said quietly. After a moment of silence, she couldn't resist asking, "So you have a tail?"

"It's absolutely natural!" Wolf said quickly, "There's nothing wrong with having a tail!"

"I didn't say there was." Danielle said and kind of half-smiled.

This time Wolf did look back at them. He seemed a little surprised at her.

"So…you…don't mind a person having a tail?" Wolf asked hesitantly.

Danielle thought the question over carefully, mentally exclaiming at how odd it was.

"No, I guess not. But I think I'd like to know. That's not the kind of thing you would want to surprise someone with." Danielle joked.

She thought how it would sound to walk up to your friend and say, 'Oh, guess what? I have a tail!'

"No, I suppose not." Wolf said with a grin as he remembered when Virginia had first made that discovery.

"Where are we going?" Danielle asked after a short silence.

"I think Virginia is this way. Probably Ivy, too. In fact, I'm sure that they're this way." Wolf announced.

Danielle nodded, figuring his guess was better than hers. She smiled slightly to herself. This was the perfect adventure, if she thought about it. And now that she had two people to show her the way, it was even better.

Ivy started awake from her dream. When she looked up and saw Faolan she thought she might still be dreaming.

"Morning!" he said cheerfully.

Ivy looked and saw the sun was coming up. She was surprised she hadn't waken herself. She could never sleep in past 7:00 AM at the latest and usually woke around 6:00. A fact that annoyed Danielle to no end, she knew.

"Yep, it is." she said, yawning and stretching as was her morning custom.

Faolan watched her with a grin.

"Early riser?" he questioned.

Ivy nodded, still yawning.

"Every day of my life if I'm not terribly sick." she said when she was finished.

Faolan glanced back at Randal who was still sound asleep. He changed his crouched position into a more comfortable sitting one.

"Sweet dreams?" he asked.

For a moment, Ivy was worried she had been talking in her sleep again.

"Why do you ask?" she asked in a too high voice, her eyes wide.

"No reason." Faolan said, "Huff, you just seemed very…pleased?"

Ivy coughed to cover her embarrassment.

"Um…yeah. I guess." she said, turning her face away.

Faolan had been in her dream. It had been a good dream. But she didn't want him to know that.

"And you?" she asked finally, regaining her composure, "Did you get any sleep?"

He nodded. And this time he seemed a little embarrassed.

"Yeah. A little." he said cryptically, looking down at his hands.

They both were silent for a long uncomfortable moment. Ivy suddenly remembered she was sitting on his coat.

"Oh! Here." she said, pulling it out from under her and giving it to him.

"Thanks." he said, balling it up in his hands and looking around for a place to put it.

It wasn't very cool and he really didn't want to wear it. Ivy saw what he was looking for and pulled over her backpack, which she had ended up using as a pillow.

"You can put it in here, if you want." she offered, "I can fit just about anything in this backpack."

Faolan gave the coat to her and raised one eyebrow.

"Oh? Is it magic?" he asked, watching her rummage around in her backpack until she had a space big enough for the coat.

"No." she said, stuffing it in. She smiled at him, "I'm just good at stuffing things in."

Faolan shifted a little where he was sitting.

"Do you think…could you make that thing make music again? It was pretty." he said quietly.

"Oh, sure." Ivy said, digging out her CD player and her case of CD's, "What do you want to listen to? Oh, wait! You don't know the singers. Well, you can still pick a type of song. You like slow or fast songs. I only have country at the moment, sorry. I was in a mood, I guess."

Faolan thought out his answer more carefully than Ivy thought the question warranted.

He finally locked his gaze on her and said, "Maybe a slow song."

Ivy couldn't help but stare back at him. She finally broke her gaze away with another fake cough and buried her face in the CD case, looking for a song. She always liked playing songs that fit with the situation. It made her feel like she was in a movie or a TV show. She looked for a song that would fit now. She couldn't decide between two songs. One fit all too well, but she was a little embarrassed to play it. She decided to let Faolan choose.

"You want to hear a guy or a girl? That'll narrow it down." she said finally.

"A girl. So you can sing along." Faolan said without a moment's hesitation.

"I can sing to guys, too." Ivy laughed, "It just sounds weird."

"Maybe I can learn the words and I'll sing the guy's song. But not now." Faolan said, still looking at her.

"Okay." Ivy said, quickly returning to looking at the CD's, "I guess it's 'Wish', then."

Ivy put in the Sherrie Austin CD. She went to the last song on the CD. She turned up the music a little because this song was very quiet and she wasn't great at singing that soft.

"Last night in a dream

An angel came to me.

She granted me one wish

Then she asked what it would be.

Did I wish that we all could live in peace?

Did I wish for an end to poverty?

No, I wished it away so selfishly

When I wished that you would always love me."

Faolan seemed to like this song. He brightened a little and smiled softly. Randal was awake by now, too. He was listening, but not with half as much interest as his brother. By the end of the song, Faolan was looking at her even more intently. He took her hand in his, looking right in her eyes. Ivy opened her mouth to say something.

"That would never work, you know. You can't wish for more wishes." Randal piped in, breaking up the moment.

Faolan growled under his breath at his brother. Ivy smiled and rolled her eyes, withdrawing her hand from his. She looked at Randal.

"That's what I've always thought. But I didn't write the song." she said with a shrug.

"I wish you had." Faolan said so quietly she almost didn't hear and wasn't sure she was supposed to.

"Well," Ivy said too loudly, getting to her feet, "You want to hear something, you should listen to my friend Danielle sing 'Wide Open Spaces'. Or the two of us singing Shedaisy."

"I'd like to." Faolan said, rising as well, "I bet you sound great."

Ivy shook her head to dismiss the comment. She looked around and saw that the sun was completely up.

"'Bout time we started on our way, hmmm? I've got a castle to reach, you know." she said, trying to keep the mood light.

"Right." Faolan agreed.

His stomach growled loudly at that precise moment, letting all three of them know that it was time for breakfast.

"You want some of my jerky?" Ivy offered, digging the bag out of her backpack.

She passed it to Faolan who took some and then gave it to Randal. Randal took a big piece and gave it back to her. Both of them sniffed the jerky curiously before biting into it. They looked so much alike at that moment and were almost perfectly in sync and it made Ivy laugh. Which caused both of them to look at her curiously. Ivy just laughed harder and shook her head.

"Come on. Let's go." she said.

Virginia had been walking all morning. She had woken up feeling very sick. She had thrown up once, depleting herself of the only food she had had. When she had felt well enough to continue on her journey, she had become ravenously hungry. She felt she could have eaten like Wolf.

"Was that morning sickness?" Virginia wondered out loud.

She hadn't gotten a chance to read up on pregnancy at all. She had wanted to. She was worried enough about her baby without being clueless as to what was happening inside her. Virginia felt a kick and doubled over in more surprise than pain.

"Oh, my god!" she cried, wishing that Wolf was there.

Virginia rubbed her stomach.

"Oh, baby. It's okay." Virginia said softly, "Be good until daddy's here."

Virginia tried to remember what she had read in that book back in Central Park. The one about wolves: all she needed to know. If only she could remember what she needed to know! The gestation period of a wolf, what was it? She could almost see it in her mind. Virginia closed her eyes and let her mind go blank, waiting for the information to resurface.

"Two months! That's it! Two months." Virginia exclaimed.

If her baby was part wolf, would that effect her time carrying it? A person was nine months, but a wolf was only two. Oh, she needed Wolf! He had to know. Virginia tried to stop thinking about it and concentrate on where she was going. She had to be nearing the swamp. Then, she just had to go around and to Wendell's castle. That easy.

"Nothing's ever easy in the 9 Kingdoms, Virginia." she said to herself grimly.

Danielle was tired of listening to Breena. The fairy meant well, but Danielle really wasn't paying attention anymore. Fact was, she had tuned her out after about the first five minutes. Kind of like she did in class. Which would explain a lot of her grades.

"So after that war the trolls remained pretty passive as a whole for a good period of time. Well, for trolls anyway. But it's common knowledge that they hate Wendell and his kingdom for taking part of the 3rd Kingdom." Breena continued, chatting away about as fast as she flapped her wings.

Danielle nodded absently. To distract herself and to keep herself from dying of boredom, she concentrated on Wolf. Her new-found knowledge of his bloodlines explained a lot of his earlier behavior, now that she thought about it. Why had she never wondered at the way he had acted around the witch before? She couldn't be that dumb, could she? Maybe she should be a village idiot.

Danielle jogged a few steps to put her even with Wolf again. She had seen his back almost the entire time they had been walking. She was getting tired of it. He was still pretty distracted. Worried about Virginia, most likely. Danielle had guessed from her appearance that Virginia was pregnant. But now that she thought about that, too, she began to wonder what Virginia thought about having wolf blood in her baby. That had to be a little scary. Virginia was from the "10th Kingdom" after all, just like she was.

"You shouldn't worry so much." Danielle said to Wolf and ignored Breena's indignant huff as she realized she was being ignored.

"Why not?" Wolf asked, a little startled as her voice broke through his own reveries.

"'Cause. Everything's going to work out. It has to. We're the good guys. The good guys always win." Danielle said confidently, "It's in the handbook, you know."

"What handbook?" Wolf asked, confused.

"The Good Guy and Bad Guy Handbook. I'll demonstrate." Danielle said, glad to get both their minds off the present, "Okay, so when the good guy gets captured, the bad guy has to put him in some kind of machine that will kill him, but then he has to leave. And the machine/trap thing has to be easily escapable. And the good guy has to say, 'You'll never get away with this!' and then the bad guy, he replies, 'I already have!' and laughs maniacally. And then he leaves and the good guy gets free or his sidekick saves him and they chase down the bad guy, have a huge fight scene, and then they win and the bad guy gets locked up. See?" Danielle asked.

She had been bouncing all around the path before Wolf, demonstration dramatically the different aspects of the standard plot to every comic book and cheap movie. Danielle had always had a thing for acting and the theatre. She was a dramatic person and liked to pretend. Wolf was watching her with amusement. It was a strange occurrence when he wasn't the one bounding around.

"I see." Wolf nodded, "But what if the bad guy wants to be a good guy?"

"A good point." Danielle said, "Then, you have a dramatic stand-off where the bad guy throws down his weapon and begs for mercy."

"And what if the good guy says no?"

"Then, his sidekick or someone else talks to him in a touchy, feely moment and gets the good guy to say yes. That's how it works." Danielle explained.

"And if the bad guy lied?" Wolf asked, enjoying this distraction.

"That happens sometimes, too. He is a bad guy, after all. Then, he attacks the good guy when his back is turned and the fighting continues." Danielle said with a shrug.

"And what if the good guy isn't really a good guy, but is only made to seem that way by prejudiced people and there really is no good guy and the story ends in tragedy?" Wolf asked.

Danielle looked at him curiously.

"You got a name for that one?" she asked.

"Little Red Riding Hood." he said.

Danielle nodded solemnly.

"Then, you throw down your fairy tale book in disgust and demand why that stupid, bratty girl had to do that to the wolf and wonder if there were ulterior motives behind the story. And you be disgusted at how the little girl would marry a woodsman at least twice or three times her age." Danielle said.

Wolf smiled.

"Oh."

"You want to hear some more?" Danielle asked.

"Sure." Wolf agreed.

Breena sighed on Danielle's shoulder. Danielle could tell that the fairy thought this was completely stupid, but Danielle didn't care. No one was keeping Breena here.

"Okay. First, no one named Jaja can be a good guy. Second, spandex can cause chaffing and certain people shouldn't be allowed to wear it…" Danielle began.


	10. Chapter 10

-1"Do any of you know where you are going?" Wendell demanded, irritable again.

"Yes." Cinnamon said shortly.

"Really?" Tony asked, raising one eyebrow, "When did you plan on telling the rest of us?"

"When I pick up a scent." Cinnamon replied, not letting Tony or Wendell's annoyance faze her.

"Do you smell anything yet?" Maive asked.

Cinnamon shook her head.

"Too many scents. My nose isn't strong enough to get past them to any of the others." Cinnamon said as a way of apology.

"If we can find some water, I can scry." Maive said.

"There's a brook nearby." Wendell supplied moodily, "I didn't mind being a dog compared to this. At least no one could step on me. This is horrible."

Tony sensed that Wendell was sinking into another depression like the one he had had in Kissingtown and beyond. He didn't want that to happen again.

"It's okay, Wendy. Don't worry. We'll get you back to your old self in no time." Tony said.

"Not if she's the one working the magic!" Wendell croaked angrily, "You keep her away from me, Anthony! We should go find a competent witch and get her to turn me back."

"I'm really sorry, Wendell. I am. It's just…making up spells on the spur of the moment has never been my strong point." Maive apologized.

"Nice of you to tell me **now**!" Wendell raged.

Cinnamon clamped her hands over her ears to block out her three companions. She bounded a ways ahead of them, sniffing away, looking for Wolf, Virginia, or the girl's scents. The girls would be the hardest to find. She had only smelled them briefly and the smells had been old.

"Some motley group we are." Wendell continued, depressed again, "One bumbling idiot, one incompetent witch, a half-wolf, and a king who's now a frog. We're all going to die."

"We are _not_ going to die!" Tony said, "I'm never keen on dying. I don't plan to change my mind now."

"No, he's right." Maive cried, sinking into Wendell's depression as well, "We are going to die. And it's all my fault. If I could get a stupid spell right it might not be so bad. I'm a terrible witch. I don't even know why the Council sent me."

There were tears welling up in her eyes.

"No, no. Not you, too." Tony said, "Listen, both of you. Feeling sorry for yourselves won't get us anywhere."

"But…" Wendell and Maive both started.

"He's right. Now both of you shut up and let me concentrate." Cinnamon growled.

The force of her growl made everyone quiet. Cinnamon let herself smile for a moment, then went back to trying to find the right smells.

Ivy stopped at the bank of the river and looked over at Faolan. Did he have some kind of plan on how they were going to cross this? Or did they have to swim? He saw her looking at him and smiled in that way people do when they know something you don't.

"What?" Ivy asked, "How are we going across?"

"Just wait." Faolan said and ran off into the woods.

"What's he…Randal, what…?" Ivy looked to Randal for an explanation.

Randal shook his head, but his eyes were bright with excitement as he waited for whatever his brother had in mind. Apparently this was as much a surprise to him as it was to her. After about ten minutes had passed and he hadn't returned, Ivy started getting worried. Where was he?

Suddenly, Ivy heard a shout from out on the river. She turned and saw Faolan in a small row boat on the river. He waved at them, grinning, and steered the boat towards the shore.

"How on earth did you pull that off?" Ivy demanded.

Faolan shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. Come on, let's go." he said.

Ivy lifted Randal up and helped him into the boat first. Then she climbed in after him.

"I can take an oar if you want." she offered.

"No, no. I've got it." Faolan said, pushing them off with an oar and starting to row again.

The current pulled them down the river a little, but Faolan got them across. Ivy wished he had let her take an oar. For all that sometimes it might not seem like it, rowing a boat, especially against the current, was a lot of work. She knew that if she asked he would say no, but she could tell from the sweat he was working up that he was having a little trouble with it. She was glad when they hit the other shore.

"You really should have let me help." Ivy said, jumping out of the boat first and helping Randal and then, Faolan out.

"I got us here." he protested, wiping his sleeve across his forehead.

"Yeah, you did." Ivy said, looking around, "Where is here?"

"The 4th Kingdom."

"I know that! Where in the 4th Kingdom?" Ivy asked.

Faolan shrugged.

"I've actually never been to the 4th Kingdom before. Randal and I snuck across the 2nd Kingdom border into the 3rd Kingdom. It's almost impossible to get across the 2nd and 4th border, thanks to Queen Riding Hood." Faolan explained, "She's got all the bridges swamped with guards and more guards posted all along that portion of the river. We never would have made it that way."

"Why are there so many guards?" Ivy asked.

"She doesn't want us leaving." Faolan said, shrugging, "Maybe it's just another excuse to shoot wolves. I don't know. I only know what I saw."

"Why do you want into the 4th Kingdom, then. Is it worth all that?" Ivy shook her head in confusion.

"King Wendell put out a royal pardon of wolves in the 4th Kingdom. So far, it's the only kingdom where we can't be shot on sight. I don't want Randal in a place like that." Faolan said, glancing at his brother.

"What about your parents? Where are they?" Ivy asked.

Faolan busied himself with the boat although there was nothing to be done about it. He coughed and didn't look up when he replied.

"They were killed. The Queen's soldiers and a group of men from one of the villages found them too close to the village and killed them." he said.

Ivy heard a whimper from Randal at that. She looked back at the little boy and saw that there were tears welling up in his eyes. He saw her looking at him and quickly turned away, wiping his eyes. Ivy looked back at Faolan. He had seen his brother, too, and looked even sadder because of it.

"I…I'm sorry." Ivy stumbled.

She had never been good at things like this. But she knew she had to do something.

"Uh…" she couldn't think of a single thing to say and silently cursed herself, "I'm really sorry."

"It's alright. It's past." Faolan said.

Randal looked at him with wide eyes. He looked surprised. And hurt. He turned and ran away from them.

"Randal! Randal, come back here! I've got to go get him." Faolan said quickly to Ivy and ran off after his brother.

Ivy started running after them, but stopped. She should probably leave them to themselves.

"Randal, what is the matter with you?" she heard Faolan's voice.

Ivy pulled some leaves out of the way and saw that Faolan had caught Randal. She started to leave, but stayed.

"You don't even care anymore!" Randal cried accusingly, "You're too busy with…"

"Randal! You know that's not true!" Faolan interrupted, "I care a lot. Do you think that I don't miss mom and dad, is that it? Well, you're wrong. I miss them terribly."

"You do not." Randal said and Ivy could hear him sobbing.

She felt a pang of guilt for causing this.

"I do, Randal. I do. But I can't bring them back. Nothing can. We have to move on." Faolan insisted.

"I want mom!" Randal cried.

"Me, too, Randal. Me, too." Faolan agreed quietly.

Ivy decided now would be as good a time as ever to make her presence known. She made a show of stumbling through the bushes and looking surprised to find them there.

Randal was crying and Faolan was holding him. Ivy regretted her decision of intruding. Too late now.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

She knelt next to Randal and patted him on the head.

"It's okay, Randal. Shhh. Don't cry." she added.

Randal shoved Faolan away and latched onto Ivy. Ivy's eyes widened in surprise and she looked at Faolan over Randal's head. Faolan looked hurt, now. He glanced at Randal, then backed up a pace.

"Hey, hey. It's okay, Randal, it's okay." Ivy said quietly.

Randal sniffed, then began whimpering.

"Randal. I'm sorry. It must be very hard. But you know what? I'll bet that your mommy and daddy are in a special place right now." Ivy said, trying anything to comfort the little boy.

"Really?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Um hum. And wherever they are, they're watching over you and your brother. And when they see you cry, it makes them sad, too. They don't want you to be sad, Randal. They're in a good place now. Don't cry for them, Randal. They would want you to get on with your life. They wouldn't want you to be sad all the time." Ivy said, just blurting out everything that came to mind.

Randal sniffed and wiped furiously at his tears. He looked at his brother, then at Ivy. Then, he ran off.

"Randal!" Ivy called, rising to go after him.

"Leave him." Faolan said quietly, "You helped. I could tell. He just wants to be alone."

Ivy looked at Faolan. He was staring off at nothing.

"But did I help enough?" she asked, looking right at him.

Faolan looked at her and saw she meant him. He smiled shakily.

"I'm okay. Randal took it really hard, though. He's still not over what happened."

"I wouldn't be either." Ivy said, looking off in the direction Randal had gone.

A moment later, a small howl broke the quiet. Ivy knew that it was Randal. Ivy had never heard anything so sad and mournful. It brought tears to her eyes. And Ivy wasn't one to cry easily.

"I want to help him, but I don't know what to do." Faolan said quietly.

"It was my fault. I never should have brought it up." Ivy shook her head.

"No. It's my fault. You couldn't have known. I should be able to handle this better. Randal probably hates me right now."

Ivy wished fervently that she was better at this sort of thing. She wanted so much to make both of them feel better.

"He doesn't hate you. He just feels a little betrayed. You grieve on the inside and to him it seems like you're not. He doesn't understand." Ivy said.

She understood. That was the only way she knew how to grieve. She had never been the kind to openly cry. She had been the kind to cry when she was alone and she was sure no one would hear her. Or not cry at all.

"Let's stay here for a while." Ivy suggested.

Evil witch or no evil witch, she wasn't going to leave Faolan and Randal like this. And neither of them was ready to go on yet. Evil would just have to wait.

"You two! Oh, stop clowning around!" Breena demanded, flitting around.

"Clowns?" Danielle asked, "I hate clowns!"

The Good Guy and Bad Guy Handbook demonstration had led to many over-dramatized examples of the different situations by both Wolf and Danielle. Danielle was happy with her success at getting both their minds off of their problems. And since they were still moving while they "clowned around", they really weren't losing any time. Not much anyway. Danielle had accepted the role of Bad Guy and proceeded with pretending she had a gun (in actuality her hand in gun shape) and pretended she was taking Breena hostage.

"What _are_ you doing?" Breena demanded.

"Quiet, fairy. One move, Wolfie boy, and the fairy gets it!" Danielle said in her best gangster impression.

"Gets what?" Wolf asked, confused.

Danielle stopped.

"You don't know about guns?" she asked.

Wolf shook his head.

"Lucky you." Danielle said dryly, "I won't be the one to spread the news. Just forget it."

"You two are both the most immature, hyper, slightly psychotic people I have ever met!" Breena declared.

"Thank you." Wolf and Danielle said at the same time.

"Oooohhh." Breena said, exasperated.

They walked for the next few moments in silence. Danielle finally got bored with silence and started talking again.

"You know, it's really not fair." she said.

"What's not?" Wolf asked.

"All the good guys are taken. They're all either married, gay,…or have a tail!" Danielle said with a grin.

"Thanks. Maybe." Wolf said, but the comment had reminded him of Virginia and he began to worry again.

He frowned and started sniffing again.

"Smell anything?" Danielle asked.

Wolf shook his head.

"Not yet. Huff-puff, I will. If there were an actual trail to follow…" he shook his head again and scratched at his temple.

"You did it again." Danielle said.

"What?"

"You did that thing again. That scratchy thing." Danielle said, pointing.

Wolf jerked his hand down and pretended it had never happened.

"I'm hungry. You hungry?" Danielle asked, rubbing her stomach, "Breena, you hungry?"

"I already ate, thank you." Breena said stiffly, landing on Danielle's shoulder again.

"Wolf?"

"Virginia says I'm always hungry." Wolf replied.

"Are you?"

"For food? Not always."

"Ooooookay." Danielle said, realizing she had approached a subject she didn't really want to, "So. About food. You got any ideas on where to get some?"

Wolf stopped suddenly and held up out his arm to stop Danielle. Danielle opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but Wolf gestured for her to be quiet. He sniffed again, then cocked his head to one side.

"Hello." Wolf said, "You can show yourselves now."

There was a rustling from all around them and Danielle spun in a circle, looking to see who it was. They were surrounded in any case. Breena had to leave Danielle's shoulder or she would fall off.

"Hello." a male voice replied.

Wolves emerged from the bushes and shadows on all sides. Danielle backed up a step, but realized it wouldn't help anything.

"I'm surprised you didn't smell us earlier." the owner of the voice said.

It was a person (or at least, he looked mostly human). He paced slightly, almost circling them. Danielle didn't like this one bit. She had read about wolves before. Seen a nature movie or two. It didn't help to ease her mind.

"I did." Wolf said, "I didn't know you were tracking us."

"All the noise you were making, it wasn't hard." he replied and Danielle winced.

That had been her fault. Danielle followed the man with her eyes as he circled them. That's when she noticed that he had a tail swinging back and forth behind him. Danielle's eyes widened and she pointed at the man. She opened her mouth to say something, but Wolf clamped a hand over it.

"Your human friend isn't familiar with this land, is she?" the man said and he grinned.

That was not a good grin, Danielle thought frantically. That was a…a…predatory grin!

"She's not important." Wolf said quickly.

At any other time, Danielle might have been insulted, but right now she was inclined to agree. She nodded vigorously.

"Hmmm. A half-wolf, a human, and a fairy. That's not everyday. What's to be done?" the man mused out loud.

Danielle pulled Wolf's hand away from her mouth.

"You could let us go." she suggested.

The man barked a laugh. Danielle didn't like the way this seemed to be going. She could hear some of the wolves behind her growling.

"Oh, no. I think we should share our hospitality first." he said and Danielle tried not to wonder what would be second, "Didn't you speak of being hungry?"

"Maybe." Wolf allowed.

"I'm hungry, too." he said and glanced at Danielle, "Come. Follow me."

He turned and started walking back into the forest. Wolf glanced around, then followed. Danielle saw that they didn't have much of a choice. The wolves were still behind them, almost herding them onward.

"What do we do?" Danielle asked Wolf in a whisper.

"Yes! This is bad. Very bad. I hope you have a plan." Breena agreed.

"Both of you stay quiet. Do nothing unless I tell you. Stay close." Wolf replied quickly, glancing back at the wolves behind them.

"But…" Danielle began.

"Shhh." Wolf cut her off, "Don't say a word."

"But couldn't Breena get us out of here?" Danielle insisted stubbornly.

"Oh!" Breena cried, "Yes, yes…"

"No!" Wolf whispered urgently, "Your magic won't take us far. They'll only think we're running. That's the worse thing we could do. Now, quiet."

Danielle nodded. What she wouldn't give for a weapon. If this were a story, she would have a dagger in her boot and maybe a bow and arrows. Or a sword. Something at least.

The wolves took them farther and farther into the woods. The shadows were getting longer and deeper as the woods got thicker. It was only sometime in the afternoon, but the darkness of the forest made it seem later. Danielle was usually all up for excitement. Maybe a good fight scene. But not like this. They didn't stand a chance. Even when the good guys on T.V. had horrible odds, they still had weapons at least. They had a slim chance as opposed to her no chance in heck. It wasn't fair! How come she had to be the one who got stuck in this?

If Ivy's sitting somewhere eating that stupid jerky of hers, I'm going to kill her, Danielle thought angrily.

The trees finally broke a little, but it was still dark. They entered a clearing. On one side there was a cave. Wolves lounged around the clearing. When they saw their group enter the area, they all come to attention. There were a few half-wolves around, but not as many as there were full-wolves. Danielle gulped.

There was a large fire blazing heartily in the middle of the clearing. Danielle, Wolf, and Breena were deposited next to it. Danielle's eyes darted back and forth as she tried to keep an eye on everyone. She wondered what happened now.

"Sit." the man from before said, gesturing.

He, himself, took a seat and waited for them to. Wolf glanced around suspiciously before slowly sitting down. He grabbed Danielle's hand and pulled her down next to him. Danielle dropped down on her butt. Breena hovered close to her.

"My name is Dolphus." the half-wolf introduced himself.

"Wolf." Wolf said shortly.

Dolphus raised both eyebrows. He looked around at his companions.

"Wolf? The half-wolf that killed the Huntsman? That got Wendell to give us a royal pardon?" he asked.

Wolf nodded. Dolphus jumped to his feet.

"Cripes! Did you hear that everyone? Huff-puff, Wolf the hero has joined us tonight!" he called.

There was murmuring from all around the clearing. Dolphus quickly bounded over to Wolf and pulled him to his feet. He shook his hand vigorously.

"Sorry about all that. Didn't know who you were. It would be an honor for you to share our fire, Wolf." he said quickly.

Wolf glanced around the clearing. There were no more growls from any of the wolves. A few apologetic whines from the ones that had brought them in. Wolf looked back at Dolphus and nodded.

"Alright." he agreed slowly.

Dolphus smiled. He quickly walked over and began speaking with a group of other wolves. Danielle tugged on Wolf's sleeve to get his attention.

"Are you sure it's safe?" she asked, remembering the way Dolphus had said he was hungry.

Wolf nodded, sitting down again.

"Yes. Wolves never cross another wolf if they owe him a debt. Apparently they think that I'm a hero. They won't do anything. I'm pretty sure we would have been alright anyway. Wolfies only pretend to do naughty things." Wolf said, repeating the line he had told Virginia some time ago.

"Sure." Danielle said, not really buying that, "Just don't let any of them…eat me."

"Oh! Don't worry. Huff-puff, you are perfectly safe! I give you my wolf word." Wolf said immediately.

That comment made him remember what he had said to Queen Riding Hood. She had meant her threat. There had to be some way of getting out of that. He should never have said what he had. Truth was, he hadn't really thought about anything he had said before hand. His only thought had been that he had to get free and find Virginia. Wolf growled to himself as he thought. After a few frustrated moments of not coming up with anything, he dismissed it with a small wave of his hand. He would think of something.

Dolphus bounded back over, smiling. Danielle had to admit that he did seem like a very different wolf now. But that couldn't make her forget how he had acted before he knew who Wolf was.

"A hunting party is going out. They'll bring back some fresh food for us. I suppose your human friend can cook hers." Dolphus said, frowning a little at the mention of cooking food, "I never understood what humans see in cooked meat."

Wolf was about to reply, but changed his mind. He looked over at Danielle and made a quick decision.

"It's actually pretty good." Wolf said quickly, "I think I'll cook mine, too."

Dolphus looked very surprised at that, but shrugged.

"Whatever you like." he said. He brightened a little, "There's some people who'd really like to meet you. Would you…?"

Dolphus gestured towards the cave. Wolf rose, wondering who would want to meet him and couldn't come out to see him. Maybe someone who was hurt? Danielle coughed. She didn't want to be left here all alone. The wolves liked Wolf, alright, but that didn't necessarily apply to her. Wolf gave her a hand and helped her up. Dolphus raised one eyebrow, but didn't comment as Danielle followed them. Dolphus led them into the cave. He whined softly, announcing their arrival to whoever was in there. It was kind of dark and it took Danielle a moment for her eyes to adjust. They walked a few strides back into the cave until Dolphus stopped them.

"Fiona?" he asked.

"Yes?" a female voice replied.

"Wolf is here."

"Fiona?" Wolf asked in surprise.

He had a startling suspicion. A girl half-wolf ran out from the depths of the cave and enveloped Wolf in a huge hug. Wolf's eyes were wide and he pushed her back so he could look at her.

"Fiona?" he asked in disbelief.

She nodded and there were tears in her eyes.

"Yes. It's me, Wolf." she said.

This time it was Wolf who initiated the hug.

"I thought you were dead!" he exclaimed.

"I practically was! I don't really know what happened. All I know is that the next thing I remember was waking up in the woods with burns all over me. I thought _you _were dead! Until just recently when I heard what you've done! You're a hero, Wolf!" Fiona cried.

Danielle looked at the two of them in confusion. She looked over and saw Dolphus was backing off. She did, too. Whoever this lady was, she and Wolf had a history of some kind. Wolf saw her backing up and held out a hand.

"No, no. Danielle, meet my sister." Wolf said, smiling.

"Hi." Danielle said, shaking hands with Fiona.

"Hello." she said, smiling so happily that Danielle was sure that her mouth would hurt later.

"Oh, sis! It's been so long! You have to meet Virginia! Oh, guess what?" Wolf said, then continued before Fiona could reply, "I'm going to have a little cub!"

"Oh, Wolf that's so wonderful!" Fiona said, hugging him again, "I've got a surprise for you, too. Wait here."

Fiona turned and hurried back into the cave. She returned a moment later with a baby in her arms.

"I was going to name him after you, but I remembered how much you hated your name when you were little." she said with a grin.

"Who? When?" Wolf asked.

"Who's the father? You met him already." Fiona said.

"Dolphus?" Wolf asked.

Fiona nodded.

"He found me not long after the whole…incident. Little baby is almost a month old now." she tickled the baby's stomach as she said that last, "You want to hold him?"

Wolf nodded. Fiona handed him the baby and Wolf held him very carefully.

"Hi, little guy. Huff-puff, he looks just like you, sis." Wolf said, looking up at her.

The baby grabbed Wolf's hand and made a tiny little growl/gurgle and wagged his little bushy tail. Wolf smiled.

"I think you should name him Warren." he said.

Fiona thought that over, then nodded and smiled.

"Warren it is. I always hoped that you would help me name my baby. I've never been good with names. I just never thought it would actually happen!"

Danielle had to smile. She was happy for Wolf. Finding a long, lost sister and finding out he was an uncle must be unbelievable for him. This was just like a story after all.

Virginia stopped, perplexed. She had reached the sign at the entrance of the Swamp. She did _not_ want to go through the Swamp, but the other way would take twice as long. Plus, she was pretty sure she couldn't get through the Swamp alone. She had almost died last time and would have if not for Wolf.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice, baby. We'd better take the long way." she said out loud.

Virginia angled along the other path. She had never been this way before, but it led to Wendell's castle so it shouldn't matter.

"Almost home, baby. Just a few more days." Virginia assured herself as well as the baby.

Although, a few more days seemed like such a long time.

Maive knelt at the edge of the brook and scooped up some water with a wooden bowl that Cinnamon lent her. She sat on the grassy bank and set the bowl in her lap. She concentrated, doing the mental preparation that they had taught her in her training.

A picture appeared in the bowl of Virginia. She was walking along a path. Tony peered over Maive's shoulder at the picture.

"Is it me or was she not that…ahem…big last time I saw her?" he asked.

"She's carrying a wolf cub. They grow faster than human babies. Or so my mother told me." Cinnamon supplied.

"Where is she?" Tony asked.

"I know that area! She's headed this way!" Wendell piped up.

"What? You mean she's in the 4th Kingdom?" Tony demanded.

"Yes. Or at least, she will be soon if she's not already. That's a path to my castle." Wendell said.

"Okay, we've found Virginia. What about Wolf and the girls?" Cinnamon asked.

Maive nodded and waved a hand over the bowl. A few seconds later a picture of Wolf appeared. He was sitting by a fire and Danielle was sitting next to him along with another lady. The lady held a baby in her arms. There were wolves all around the edge of the picture. There was also a fairy sitting on Danielle's shoulder.

"Where's that?" Tony asked.

No one answered so Maive concentrated harder, trying to figure out where Wolf and Danielle were.

"The Disenchanted Forest." she said finally.

"So they're in the 4th Kingdom, too!" Tony said, happy for that.

"The other girl, Ivy. Where's she?" Wendell asked.

Maive waved her hand over the bowl again. When the picture reformed, they saw Ivy sitting on the ground next to a young guy. He looked pretty upset. It looked like she was trying to console him.

Tony, Cinnamon, and Wendell looked at Maive. She held up a hand, telling them to wait.

"Also the 4th Kingdom. By the River." she reported.

Tony sighed.

"So at least we're all in the same kingdom." he said.

"Yes, but my kingdom is pretty large, Anthony. We need to all be together." Wendell said.

"So what do we do?" Maive asked, pouring the water back into the brook.

Everyone was silent.

"We need a plan." Maive said.

"You got one?" Tony demanded.

"No." Maive admitted.

"See." Wendell said with a ribbit, "We're all going to die."


	11. Chapter 11

-1"Faolan." Ivy said, desperate now to fix this situation, "Tell me what I can do to help? Anything."

Faolan looked at her strangely.

"I can't say." he said.

Ivy hit the ground hard with her fist in frustration. She started growling herself without realizing it.

"Just say it." she growled.

Faolan had to smile. She was acting like a wolf and didn't even know it. He laughed quietly.

"What could possibly be funny?" Ivy asked.

"You." he said, "You're growling."

Ivy sat up straight.

"I am? I mean, I was not!"

Faolan laughed a little more.

"You were, too." he insisted.

Ivy, glad to find something that made him feel better, decided to play this through as far as she could.

"I do not growl." she said.

"Oh, you were growling alright." Faolan said, a smile creeping onto his face, "I wouldn't be surprised if you had a tail!"

"I would!" Ivy cried, jumping to her feet.

She looked over her shoulder, as if checking for a tail. But she couldn't see. She started spinning in circles. Faolan's laughter got stronger until he finally got to his feet and forced her to stop. By now, she was pretty dizzy.

"Make the ground stop moving." she said with a little whine.

"Now you're whimpering." Faolan told her.

"Oooohhh, okay. You win. Just let me sit down." Ivy said, putting a hand to her head.

She almost fell to the ground, but managed to sit down on her own. She placed both hands on the ground until it stopped moving.

"You know, if you spin fast enough, you start seeing things." she told Faolan.

"Like what?" he asked, dropping down next to her again and propping up his chin on his elbow, which rested on his knee.

"Sometimes spaceships or aliens." Ivy said, then saw he had no idea what she was talking about, "Different species from another planet."

Faolan's eyes widened.

"You know people from other planets?" he asked in disbelief.

Ivy shook her head and laughed, "Not personally. Unless you count T.V. Danielle might."

"T.V.?" he asked.

"A box that has moving pictures in it that tell a story." Ivy explained.

"There must be a lot of magic in your world." Faolan said with a sigh.

"Actually," Ivy said, sobering, "Not nearly as much as you might think. Not enough."

Just then, Randal stumbled back into the clearing. Faolan jumped to his feet and bounded over to him. Randal pushed past him and went to Ivy.

"Don't we have to go to King Wendell's Castle?" he asked.

"Well, yes. But I'm not going to go until you're both ready." she said with a firm nod.

"I'm ready." Randal said quietly.

"Uh uh. I don't think so." Ivy shook her head, "I think maybe you should talk to your brother first."

Randal glanced back at Faolan, "I don't want to talk to him."

"Why not?" Ivy asked.

"'Cause…well, 'cause…I just don't want to!" Randal said angrily.

"Randal…" Faolan started.

Ivy gestured at him not to. She turned her attention back to Randal.

"Come here. Sit down, kid." she said, patting the ground next to her.

Randal hesitated a moment, then sat down. Ivy looked up at Faolan.

"Could you give us a minute?" she asked.

Faolan looked surprised. He didn't reply, but backed off.

"You know, your big brother cares about you a lot." Ivy said to Randal after Faolan had gone.

Randal just huffed.

"But you know, he doesn't know how to do a lot of things. Truth is, I don't either. There's a lot of stuff that only moms or dads can do. But he's trying. You know that right?"

Randal didn't respond.

"Randal?" Ivy pressed.

"Yeah, I guess." he admitted.

"And you know that he's just as sad as you are about your parents?"

Randal opened his mouth to make a loud accusation, but Ivy stopped him.

"Uh uh. I know what you think. Just listen. See, Faolan's like me. He doesn't know how to cry on the outside too well. So he cries on the inside. Does that make sense?" Ivy asked.

Randal nodded wordlessly. His eyes were wide as if this had never occurred to him.

"And sometimes, you may think that he doesn't care, but he always will. Always. You never forget someone like your parents. They're part of who you are, I guess. Although sometimes we don't like to think that." Ivy said with a small grin, "Understand?"

Randal nodded again.

"So you forgive him?"

Randal hesitated for a long moment, then nodded slowly.

"Good. Come on, let's get out of here." Ivy said, getting to her feet.

Randal followed her as she started walking in the direction Faolan had gone.

"Ivy?" he asked.

"Hmmm?"

"How do you know so much?" Randal asked.

Ivy laughed, "Trust me, kid. I don't know anything. I just read a _lot_ of books."

"Oh. Okay." Randal said in the way kids do when they don't really understand the answer they get.

"You sniff out that brother of yours and we'll be at Wendell's Castle in no time." Ivy assured him, messing up his hair.

Randal swatted at her hand and Ivy grinned. He sniffed and pointed in the direction his brother was in. They found him sitting on a tree stump. When he heard them approaching, he jumped to his feet and spun around.

"Hey?" he said uncertainly to his brother.

Ivy gave Randal a shove and he ran over and hugged his brother. Faolan looked at her in surprise, wondering what she had said to him. Ivy shrugged and grinned.

"Should we get a move on?" Ivy asked and winced at the phrase.

They started walking again and again Randal took the lead. Faolan looked at Ivy in amazement.

"Whatever you did, thank you." he said gratefully.

Ivy shrugged again.

"No prob. I was glad to help. I owe you two, you know. I'd be stuck with the trolls by now, if it wasn't for you guys letting me come with you." she said.

"I'm glad that you let _us_ travel with _you_." Faolan said and waved aside her protests, "And you _were_ growling."

Ivy grinned and growled at him.

"Maybe." she allowed, "But one thing you need to explain to me. Well, actually, a lot of things but we can start with this."

"What?"

"Why would anyone want to suck an elf?" Ivy asked, remembering back to what the trolls had said in the beanstalks.

Faolan burst out laughing.

"I….don't….know." he said.

Marissa basked in the success of her plan. Everything was going so well. Fights were breaking out at every turn in the 10th Kingdom. The 2nd Kingdom was close behind. The other kingdom residents had all grown short with each other. The 4th Kingdom was a little grumpy, but they would feel the affects of her rule soon enough.

But, she reminded herself, she still had some trouble-makers to deal with. That little excuse for a witch had managed to break the spells on Tony and Cinnamon. And she knew that they had Wendell with them. Plus, she had Wolf and Virginia to take care of. And those two brats. They were what was troubling her the most. How had they been able to deflect her magic? She had the rose, she was a million times more powerful than they were! They weren't even witches. She would have sensed it if they were. She wanted explanations.

"Patience, Marissa. They will come." she said to herself and smiled sardonically, "They'll be too late by then, but they will come."

Danielle had started to relax from the moment Wolf and his sister were reunited. She didn't know why she had been so edgy after Wolf had told her everything was okay. Breena was still on the alert, flitting around nervously. Danielle glared at her in annoyance.

"Would you stop that? You're acting like a fly or something." Danielle said.

"At least I still have enough sense to keep an eye on these wolves. The least sign of treachery and I'm poofing us out of here, I don't care. I don't give an imp what Wolf says." Breena said, her eyes darting around almost as much as she was.

"Breena, look around. Do these people look like they're going to bite our heads off when we're not looking?" Danielle asked, gesturing around at the assembly.

The wolves had started celebrating from the moment Wolf had emerged from that cave. They really did like him. That was for sure. And since she was Wolf's friend, she was completely off limits. No one bothered her except to ask if she wanted to join in or if she needed anything. She was really starting to like these wolves.

"Maybe not. But they sure are equipped for it!" Breena said.

"Oh, cripes, Breena! Would you let it go?" Danielle said, rolling her eyes.

Breena gave her a weird look and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Did you just say cripes?" she demanded.

"Uh…yeah. I guess I did." Danielle realized and grinned, "Just kept hearing it and must have picked it up. Probably a much better habit than cussing. My parents'll be thrilled."

"Oh, no. You're one of them, now!" Breena said.

Danielle ignored her. Instead she concentrated on the perfectly heavenly smells coming from the food that Wolf was cooking. She was more hungry than she realized. She grinned some more and wondered to herself if she would end up _wolfing_ all her food down.

Ivy looked around at her surroundings as they walked by. This was beautiful country. She had always hated life in the cities. She hated being all cooped up. She hated the noises, and the cars, and the pollution. She had always told herself that one day she would find a wide, open place where she could hike and ride and be…free.

Thinking about that brought a few songs to mind and thinking of those songs made Ivy pull out her CD case again. She found her Dixie Chick CD and shrugged to herself. Why not?

Faolan looked at her in amusement when he saw she was playing another CD. He opened his mouth to comment during the instrumental break, but stopped suddenly. Ivy quickly shut off the CD and looked to him to see what was wrong.

"Faolan?" she asked.

"Randal!" Faolan called quietly.

Randal ran over.

"Take Ivy and find a place to hide. I'll be back." he said quickly and took off.

Randal took Ivy's hand and started pulling her in the opposite direction.

"No!" Ivy said a little too harshly, "I'm going after him. Randal, you hide."

"But…" Randal started, but Ivy was already running after Faolan. Randal nervously scratched by his ear, "Cripes, this can't be good."

He paused a moment before going to hide.

Faolan circled wide. He wasn't sure what had made him stop, but he knew that it _was_ something. And he was pretty sure that whatever or whoever it was had been following them. Faolan had to get around to where he could smell and hear better. Right, this was the place! Faolan stopped when he heard voices. He sniffed and smelled trolls.

"Cripes." he said under his breath.

He bent low to keep out of view and listened.

"I swear I heard nicey nice music!" one of them said.

"Ah, you've just got too much dwarf moss up your nose!" another replied.

"Wasn't dwarf moss! It was magic mushrooms!" the first replied indignantly.

"Shut up, both of you!" a third said.

"Yeah, shut up!" a fourth agreed.

Four trolls. That was too many. He had to do something. But what?

There was a snap behind him, as if someone had stepped on a twig. Faolan whirled.

"Sorry." Ivy whispered.

Faolan had to stanch a growl of annoyance.

"I told you to go hide." he said angrily.

"Not the hiding type. So what do we do?" she asked, peeking out at the four trolls.

Faolan was still angry that Ivy had ignored him and possibly put herself in danger, but he put that aside and tried to think of a plan.

"We need to distract them, get them off our tails." he said out loud.

"I can be a distraction." Ivy volunteered.

"You _are_ a distraction." Faolan growled, "And besides, I'm faster than you."

Ivy frowned.

"What did I do?"

"Not now. Wait here. When I lead them off I want you to go get Randal and get out of here as fast as you can. I'll lose them, then come back and catch up with you. Alright?" Faolan said quickly.

"Got it." Ivy said, but she wasn't happy with the situation, "Don't get caught."

"I didn't plan on it." Faolan said and started moving out.

He circled around ahead of the trolls a little, then darted across the path. The trolls saw him and started running after him. Faolan stayed at just the pace that they could keep up, but wouldn't gain too much on him. He steered them back off away from Randal and Ivy. Ivy waited a few seconds after the trolls went after Faolan, then ran back to where she had last seen Randal.

"Randal! Come on, let's go!" she called, but not too loudly.

There was a swish from some nearby bushes and Randal crawled out. He jumped to his feet and ran over to Ivy.

"Where's my brother? What's going on?" he demanded.

"Your brother's leading away the trolls. We have to get out of here, now. He'll catch up with us." Ivy said quickly, "Now, come on!"

Ivy and Randal hurried away from the clearing, breaking into a run after a few strides. Ivy glanced over her shoulder repeatedly. She hoped Faolan's plan would work.

Danielle chewed slowly, savoring the taste of the delicious venison that Wolf had cooked up.

"You are one good cook, Wolf." she called over to him.

"Thank you." Wolf nodded.

"I mean really good. I don't think I've ever enjoyed eating this much." Danielle said.

Breena rolled her eyes. Wolf looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"How could you not enjoy eating?" he asked.

Danielle laughed.

"Try school food some time." she suggested.

The comment was lost on Wolf. Danielle shook her head to dismiss it. She, Breena, Wolf, Fiona, Dolphus and some other wolves were all gathered around the fire. The day was coming to an end quickly.

"Tell us of your adventure, Wolf." Fiona prodded.

There was an all around agreement from everyone, even Breena. Wolf shook his head.

"I'm no story-teller." he protested.

"Ah, come on. You were there. Just tell us what happened." Danielle said.

Wolf sighed, seeing he would never win this argument.

"Oh, huff-puff! Alright! I can only tell you what I know. And that started in Snow White Memorial Prison. Which I never should have been in anyway! A trumped up charge by some farmers against a good ol' wolfie like me." Wolf began.

The dark figure in the corner was really starting to bug Sam. The guy just kept hunched over his beer, his eyes darting back and forth. Sam really couldn't complain, the guy wasn't starting any trouble. Which was a lot more than he could say about the other guys tonight. He had had five fights tonight! In fact, this guy was just about the quietest guy to enter Sam's bar. But there was something about him that he didn't like. For one, you couldn't even see the guy's face. He had a hat pulled so low over his face and the collar of his coat up so far, it was just a shadow where his face should be with two almost glowing eyes looking out. It gave Sam the creeps. And now that nearly everyone else had cleared out, the feeling got worse. Sam edged down the bar nervously toward the guy.

"Uh…it's almost closing time, buddy. You just about done?" Sam asked.

The guy pushed himself to his feet and regarded Sam coldly. It send a shiver up Sam's spine.

"Yes." the guy said and flicked a some money down on the bar even though he hadn't touched his beer.

Sam watched the guy ease out of the bar and sighed with relief when he was gone. He didn't know what had scared him so much. He'd dealt with worse types in his days as a bartender in Manhattan.

Sam busied himself with cleaning the bar. He hoped the guy wouldn't come back in. To take his mind off it, Sam wondered about people's behavior lately.

"This city's gone to hell." he muttered to himself.

There had been some major road rage on the streets. Too many reports of shootings and violence on the news. He was used to the dark side of this city, but it had never been this bad. He would have to repair two chairs and a table just from the fights in here! And the strangest thing was the fights had been between some of the friendliest guys in the bar! But according to the news, it wasn't just this city. The same stuff was happening all over the country. Even the world, apparently! Sam's own temper hadn't been too great lately. And it would get worse if he had to put up with anymore crap like he had tonight.

"Yep, Sam. You really should have listened to mom and become an orthodontist." he muttered to himself.

The witch's agent slid out the door of the bar. He grinned to himself. Fights had broken out all around him. Car horns honked so loud they could be heard across the city. People could barely pass each other on the street without arguing. He had done very well. Very well indeed.

The witch had told him of her intentions many years ago and he had been all too eager to help. But, he was unable to even go near those golden roses of Gretel's. No, those flowers were deadly to his kind. So he had waited as she had for the right person to come along. And as soon as she had notified him of that Wolf fellow's arrival, he had started right in on his part of the deal. He had used his abilities to slip into Wendell's castle and use the mirror without anyone noticing in the least.

"But those damned good witches. They'll be on this all too soon." he said to himself, swinging wide around two men in a fist fight.

He knew that the Council of the Major Coven knew of his presence here. They always did poke their fat noses in everyone else's business. He would enjoy seeing them destroy each other.

The witch had asked him why he would help with this plot of destruction. He grinned, thinking of his answer.

'There has to be an unhappy ending sometime.' he had replied cryptically.

"That frog is one royal pain in the…" Cinnamon began angrily.

"Oh, shut up." Tony interrupted, "As if you're a whole lot better."

"I am never going to think of anything with all your arguing!" Maive cried.

"Good! Then, you won't mess anything else up!" Wendell croaked, hopping over to where she sat on the ground.

"I hope you choke on a fly." Maive hissed, "The spell did work. A toad is the form you deserve."

"Stop it! Stop it!" Tony yelled, gesturing angrily, "This isn't helping at all. We've got to stop this."

"Since when do you tell us what to do?" Wendell demanded, "I'm the king around here, not you!"

"I hate to tell you this, your highness, but you happen to be a frog. You're more fit to croak Budweiser at this point." Tony sneered.

Maive balled her hands up into fists. One more comment, just one more and she'd… No, Maive! That's it!

"Stop it! All of you! This is what Marissa wants!" she cried, jumping to her feet.

"What?" Tony, Cinnamon, and Wendell all demanded.

"This is her affecting us." Maive explained, "Can't you see that? Why else would you all be at each other's throats like this?"

The others were all quiet as they thought that over. Maive spread her hands in a pleading gesture.

"You have to see what she's doing. This is it! This is how she's going to destroy the Kingdoms!" Maive said, coming to that startling realization just then, "She's turning us against ourselves! She's going to bring down the 9 Kingdoms from the inside out. 10 Kingdoms, I mean."

"But if we are acting like this…" Wendell said slowly, "What about the rulers of the other kingdoms? If they're as bad, war will break out!"

"And what about New York! The…um…10th Kingdom is probably ten times as bad!" Tony exclaimed, "Maive, didn't you say something about a person doing the witch's bidding over there?"

Maive nodded.

"Yes. The Council senses his activity. They just didn't know what he was up to." she said.

"What is he?" Cinnamon asked into the following silence.

"Well….that's the problem." Maive admitted, "I…we…don't know. We just know that it's a very bad, evil person who has powers of his own."

"Oh, great." Tony said, rolling his eyes, "Why can't anything ever be easy with you people?"

"I'm beginning to agree with you, Anthony." Wendell said.

Cinnamon and Maive nodded agreement as well.

Ivy had to stop. There was no room for argument. She couldn't go any farther. She had a stitch in her side, her knee was exploding with pain, and she could barely breathe.

"Randal!" she coughed, "Stop!"

Randal skidded to a stop and hurried back to her. Ivy was bent over double, one hand on her cramped side, trying to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" Randal asked.

Ivy nodded. She straightened once she had her breath back. She balled her hand into a fist and rubbed against the stitch. It eased up. She reached her hand down to rub her knee.

"Do you think we're far enough?" she asked Randal.

Randal looked around a little nervously.

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't smell the trolls." he said.

"Okay." Ivy said, thinking quickly, "Let's keep going. But we'll go at a walk. We want Faolan to catch up to us."

Randal nodded agreement. They started off at a walk. Ivy clenched and unclenched her hands nervously. She didn't like this not knowing stuff. It would be so much better to just have an all-out fight. At least she wouldn't have to go through this waiting. So it was that when Randal told her he smelled his brother coming she almost jumped for…joy? She didn't think so. Close enough.

Ivy and Randal stopped and waited until Faolan ran into view. He was panting heavily and was running a lot slower than he had been before. Ivy hurried over to help him. He didn't protest when she took his arm to help him over.

"Lost them…." he panted, "Should be…okay."

"Okay." Ivy agreed, looking around for a place in the shade where they could stop and rest.

She steered Faolan over to a large tree and helped him to sit down on the ground.

"I'll go find some water. I can smell some close by." Randal announced and hurried off.

"I….lost them." Faolan repeated.

"I know. I heard you." Ivy nodded, "Save your breath. You must've run pretty hard. How far did you go?"

Faolan shook his head, indicating ignorance.

"Pretty far, I'd guess." Ivy said and he nodded.

He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and grinned at her slightly.

"You're right. Tail does come in handy." he said.

Ivy smiled. She pushed Faolan's hair back out of his face. He looked at her silently.

"Ahem!" Randal coughed.

Ivy spun around to see Randal standing over them with a small waterskin that she hadn't noticed he had had before. He held it out to them. Ivy took it and handed it to Faolan who swallowed some gratefully.

"Thanks, runt." he said.

"Woah, easy with that. You'll be sorry if you drink that too fast." Ivy warned, taking the waterskin away from him, "Believe me, I know."

Faolan growled irritably, but didn't protest. They waited until he caught his breath.

"What now?" Randal asked.

"One of you help me up and we'll get going again. I don't know how far it is to the King's Castle." Faolan said.

Ivy quickly got to her feet and gave him a hand. He was a lot easier to pull to his feet than she had anticipated. She almost fell backwards, but he held onto her and pulled her back to him. Ivy let him, wondering what he would do. He whimpered, leaning in closer to her, and nuzzled her cheek. Ivy stood still with wide eyes.

"Ewww." Randal's voice cut in, "Knock it off."

Faolan laughed and stepped past Ivy, leading her after him. Randal rolled his eyes and followed them.

Virginia turned her head to the side. She could have sworn she heard something. She stopped and looked around, but she didn't see anything or hear anything farther. She started walking again, but she heard the noise again, coming from somewhere else this time. It sounded like whispering. She tried to ignore it and kept walking. The whispering got louder and started coming from both sides of the path. She couldn't ignore it now. She stopped and spun around.

"Whoever you are, show yourselves!" she said with as much authority as she could muster.

The voices seemed to start giggling. They were laughing at her!

"I mean it!" Virginia said, backing up a few steps nervously.

Something bright buzzed past her face. Then something else flew past her ear. Virginia spun in another circle. Little bright things were buzzing all around her. Virginia almost cried out, but one of the things stopped in front of her face. It was a fairy!

"Lady Virginia! It is so good to meet you." the fairy said and giggled again.

"What the…? Who are you?" Virginia asked.

"My name's Trinity." the fairy announced with a small bow, "We're the forest fairies!"

There was chatter from all the fairies at that comment.

"Woah, woah. Hold it. Could you guys stop buzzing around like that, please?" Virginia asked, her eyes following another fairy as it flitted past her face, "What do you people think you're doing?"

"I thought she was succulently slender." a male fairy whispered loudly near her.

"She's pregnant, you troll!" a female fairy said, shoving him.

"Don't worry, Virginia! We're good fairies." another said.

That was a relief! But, trusting these fairies might not be such a good idea. Even if they were good fairies, they seemed pretty mischievous, too. She would be careful.

"What…what do you want?" Virginia asked cautiously.

"We want you to visit with us!"

"Yeah!"

"Um…I don't think I…" Virginia began.

The fairies began to flit about again. Was it her or did their buzzing sound…angry? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to upset them.

"Okay." Virginia amended.

The fairies stopped flying around and just hovered by her.

"Great!"

"Oh, good!"

"Come on, this way!"

Virginia let herself be led off the path and into the forest. She was really nervous about this, but there wasn't much she could do.

"I'm Briar." a male fairy introduced himself, hovering in front of her nose.

A girl fairy shoved him out of the way.

"Ignore him. My name is Chepi. He's got a crush on you." the girl fairy giggled.

"Chepi! Stop bothering her!" Trinity said, shooing her away.

Trinity smiled apologetically at Virginia. She had dark blue wings, black hair, and blue eyes. She seemed to be some sort of leader to the group.

"Sorry. They're just excited to meet you." she said.

"Uh…that's alright." Virginia said slowly.

The fairies led her into a quiet clearing. Virginia was directed to sit in the middle on a rock. The fairies all settled around her on leaves and branches. She looked around at them, wondering what they expected her to do.


	12. Chapter 12

-1Danielle looked up at the sky. It was getting darker by the minute. She could see the moon in the sky, shining pale and beautiful. She had always liked the moon better than the sun. The sun was too bright and hot. The moon was pretty and nice. The thought seemed funny to her considering her company. She could bet that they all had some comments on the moon, too. Although it wasn't nearly full yet.

Danielle yawned. She was tired. Big meals always made her tired. She hadn't been too keen on the idea of sleeping in the middle of a bunch of wolves when she had first thought about it, but now she didn't really mind. Like Wolf had said, wolves were people. They just weren't humans.

Danielle wondered what had been in that drink they had given her. She thought it had tasted kind of like wine. Danielle didn't like alcohol. She especially hated beer. But whatever they had given her had tasted so good, she couldn't stop drinking it. And now she was feeling a little weird. Her vision was a little fuzzy and her brain didn't want to work. Danielle got to her feet and stumbled over to where Wolf sat. She tripped and almost fell on her face. Wolf caught her and helped her to sit down. He frowned at her.

"Are you okay, Danielle?" he asked.

"Sure." Danielle nodded, smiling, "I'm a funny drunk, just like Giles."

Wolf looked at his sister, then back at Danielle with concern.

"How many cups did you drink, Danielle?" Wolf asked.

Danielle hiccupped and covered her mouth in surprise. Then, she smiled and held up three fingers.

"Five." she said.

"Cripes." Wolf said, rising to his feet, "I think you had better lie down. You are really going to hate the morning."

Wolf led Danielle over to a soft spot on the ground and set her down. Danielle just looked at him.

"Can I pull your tail?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so." Wolf said, a little surprised at her, "I think you should go to sleep."

"But I don't wanna sleep. I wanna…sing!" Danielle said, her eyes lighting up, "Any requests? No. Okay. How about Lucky Dollar, Private Eye?

'If you ever need a private eye

You can bet that Lucky Dollar's your man!"

Danielle started singing shakily the theme song from a play she had been in when she was younger. She hadn't even known she remembered the words.

"Shush." Wolf said quickly, "No more singing."

He looked around to see that some of the wolves were looking over there with weird expressions. Others were pointedly ignoring Danielle.

"Shhh. Hospital zone, no singing!" Danielle quoted the line from an episode of Buffy.

"Yes, yes." Wolf agreed. Anything to get her quiet, "No singing."

"Are you sure? It's a really catchy tune." Danielle said, sitting up.

"Positive." Wolf agreed, pushing her back down.

"Only fools are positive!" Danielle said immediately and she wasn't able to remember where she had heard that, "I've got another song!

'Fighting evil by moonlight.

They're all in for a real fight!

She is the one called Sailor Moon."

"Danielle! You will go to sleep now." Wolf said, and he flashed his eyes at her.

"Mmmm. Okay. I guess I'll go to sleep. But I sing in my sleep, too. Ivy says so." Danielle warned, but broke into a big yawn.

"That's okay. Just go to sleep." Wolf said and before he could say another word, Danielle was out like a light, "Well huff-puff, that was interesting. I must remember not to let her drink any more moon juice."

Wolf retreated to the fire where his sister sat watching him. She smiled.

"You have quite a strange little friend." she said.

"Very strange." Wolf agreed.

"So those self-help books really worked, did they?" Fiona asked with interest.

"Oh, yes. I did marry the girl of my dreams, didn't I? And I do believe that I know how to help a child with bed-wetting problems now, too." Wolf said.

Danielle felt herself falling, the way you do when you fall asleep. She sank into darkness. Then, she hit the ground with a thud. That wasn't normal routine. Danielle opened her eyes and looked around. She was sitting on the ground. She must have tripped on something. She was on a path, walking. A young man ran back to her and gave her a hand up.

"Are you alright, Ivy?" he asked.

Ivy? I'm not Ivy, Danielle thought in confusion.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just clumsy." Danielle felt herself say.

What was going on?

"That's good." the man said, smiling at her.

"Stop looking so smug, Mr. Wolves Always Watch Where They're Going." Danielle heard from herself.

"You are never going to let me forget that are you?" he asked with a sigh.

There was no reply. Danielle sensed something. Like someone noticing something that wasn't right.

"Ivy?" the man guy asked, worried now.

Suddenly, Danielle wasn't there anymore. She was sitting in a clearing surrounded by fairies. They were watching her expectantly, but she didn't know who they were or what they wanted.

Just as suddenly, Danielle left that place, too. Now she was sitting on a bank. Three big sleeping forms were nearby. She heard a ribbit from herself. She sensed sadness, confusion, anger, fear. The feelings made her want to comfort whoever owned them because she was pretty sure it wasn't her.

Then, Danielle was in complete darkness again. She was lying on her back. She sat up, but she couldn't see anything, not even her hand in front of her face. A light flicked on and it was so bright reflecting off pure white walls that Danielle was blinded. She shielded her eyes with her arm and waited for them to adjust.

"You have so much to learn." a voice said.

"Who's there?" Danielle demanded, getting to her feet.

Her eyes finally adjusted enough for her to see. In front of her stood a beautiful woman with pure black hair and fair skin. Danielle had a strong suspicion.

"I am Snow White, child." the woman said, confirming Danielle's suspicions.

"What…? What's going on? What happened?" Danielle blurted.

"You don't really believe yet. But you will. You have to believe." Snow White said, stepping closer to her, "Or you will die."

Danielle sunk to the floor, her legs no longer strong enough to hold her up. Snow White sat gracefully down next to her. She smiled reassuringly.

"You are lost, too. Virginia was supposed to help you. You and Ivy. But it hasn't worked out that way. So I have stepped in."

"But what…? How?" Danielle asked, unable to find any words, "Why me? Does Ivy know all this?"

"Because you and your friend are the only ones in your world who wanted this. The only ones who really, truly wanted it. And the only ones who had the promise to succeed. Everyone has a moment in their life that decides their destiny. This is yours." Snow White said.

"But…" Danielle began again.

"No. No more buts. I will tell you what I told Virginia. Don't think, become. You must learn to forget your doubts and fears and do what is needed, to trust that you can."

"What happened just now, though? Where am I?" Danielle asked.

"Oh." Snow White smiled, "You visited your friends. I believe Ivy was first, then Virginia, and then my grandson, Wendell."

"Your grandson?" Danielle asked in surprise.

"Why yes. I am dead, you see. I have been for quite some time." Snow White explained, "But that's not important. You must rest now. Go to sleep, Danielle. Got to sleep."

Snow White waved her hand in front of Danielle's face and she dropped back into the darkness of slumber.

Faolan called a halt. He knew that Randal was tired and Ivy was too, although he doubted she would admit it. He himself wasn't impartial to stopping. They had walked for quite some time now.

"We've gone far enough. Let's get some sleep while we still can." he said.

"Okay." Ivy agreed all too readily.

She took two steps off to the side and sunk to the ground. She curled up in a ball and used her backpack as a pillow again. Randal wasn't far behind. He was asleep before he hit the ground.

Faolan smiled at both of them and went over to sit by Ivy. If she wasn't asleep already, she was almost there. Faolan reached over her to brush her hair back behind her ear. She muttered something and shifted, then was still again. Faolan sighed and scooted an okay distance from her before laying down. He had to tell her eventually. She had to know how he felt. But Faolan had no idea how he was going to tell her. He sighed again. They could deal with evil witches first and if they even survived that, he would worry about it then.

Ivy didn't go through the little journey Danielle had. She went directly to the white room. She got up and looked around.

"Hello, Ivy."

Ivy spun around to see Snow White standing behind her. Ivy's mouth dropped open as she realized who it must be.

"You're…" she said.

Snow White smiled and nodded.

"Snow White. Yes." she agreed, "I have much to tell you."

Snow White repeated her message almost word for word to Ivy. She paused for a moment.

"You're even more lost than Danielle, you know. You're almost as lost as Virginia was." Snow White said softly.

Ivy looked at Snow White in shock.

"How…?" she asked.

"I'm not really alive anymore, Ivy. I'm more like a fairy godmother for lost girls now." Snow White said. She smiled softly, "It seems these half-wolves are good at showing you the path."

"What?" Ivy asked, confused.

Snow White shook her head, dismissing it.

"Listen to your heart, not your head." Snow White instructed, "Believe in yourself and your friends. You must stay together or you will fail. Each of you has a role in this. And yours and Danielle's are very important ones."

"Okay." Ivy nodded, accepting Snow White's words without knowing why she did, "I understand."

"Not yet. But you will. Sleep now." Snow White said and dismissed Ivy the same as she had Danielle.

When Ivy woke up, she saw the items that were in her backpack spread out on the ground. She propped herself up on her elbow to see Faolan sitting in the middle of it all. He had her CD player in his lap and was mouthing the words to one of the songs. He had the volume very low so Ivy couldn't hear what song it was.

"Good song?" she asked with amusement.

Faolan jumped and hid the CD player behind him as he turned to face her.

"Sorry." he said tucking the CD player back into her backpack when he thought she was distracted, "I just got curious."

"I see." Ivy said, smiling, "Find anything interesting?"

She sat up and before he could answer she snatched her backpack and jerked it over. He tried to pull it away from her, but she already had the CD player. She flipped it open to look at the CD.

"John Michael Montgomery, huh? Can I make a guess to what song you were listening to?" Ivy asked.

Faolan looked terribly embarrassed. He just stared at her hopelessly.

"Tell me it wasn't 'I Can Love You Like That'." Ivy said with a frown.

"Well, that was one of the songs. I've been awake for more than an hour." Faolan admitted.

"What else did you listen to?" Ivy demanded.

"A woman named Faith Hill, a lady named Bree Sharp, a Sherrie Austin, something called Train…"

"Enough! I get the picture. I'd really like to know which songs, but I'm not going to ask." Ivy said with a small shake of her head.

Faolan was silent as if ashamed. When he saw that Ivy wasn't going to say anymore, he hesitantly spoke up.

"You have a book about wolves."

"So?" Ivy said a little too defensively.

"Do you believe what the book says?" Faolan asked and Ivy was shocked to hear bitterness in his voice.

"What does the book say?" Ivy asked.

"That wolves mating for life is just a myth and that they are vicious creatures who should not be approached." Faolan recited.

"They weren't talking about you, Faolan." Ivy said quietly.

"No?" Faolan asked angrily.

He bared his teeth and his eyes glowed. He growled.

"How can you be sure? Have you ever been around a wolf during the full moon? Do you know what we can do?" he demanded.

Ivy jumped to her feet, suddenly very uncomfortable with being that close to him. Faolan followed her and grabbed her forearms so she couldn't move.

"You don't know." he said in a low voice.

"Stop it!" Ivy demanded, struggling to get out of his grip, "Let me go!"

Faolan spun away from her, letting her go.

"See." he said coldly, "You're afraid of me."

"I am not afraid of you." Ivy said firmly, "Now stop this. Why are you acting like this?"

Faolan pounded on a nearby tree in frustration.

"I don't know. I don't know! It's not even a full moon yet." he said.

Ivy remembered Snow White's words about sticking together. And about listening to her heart. Ivy took a deep breath and tried to do what Snow White had told her. She put a hand on Faolan's arm. He didn't move.

"It's okay, Faolan. No, I don't believe the book. And I don't know why you are acting this way, but I want to help you if I can. I need your help if I'm going to even make it to that castle and I…" Ivy broke off and looked at him.

Faolan sighed.

"I'm sorry." he said.

"It's alright. Come on. Let's wake Randal and get going. Actually, you wake Randal and I'll get my stuff." Ivy said.

Faolan did as she told him and woke up his little brother who seemed rather grumpy himself. Ivy wondered what was wrong with them.

Breena froze so suddenly in her flight that she almost fell to the ground. Very unfairy-like. She sensed something from her home. From the other forest fairies. It was part of fairy magic that they could sense some things about their fellow fairies, especially ones from their own group. Something very exciting was happening to them. Breena landed and closed her eyes, trying to figure out what could cause such excitement.

"Oh, no!" Breena cried, her eyes popping open, "They can't do that!"

The forest fairies had found the Lady Virginia and taken her to the clearing. As a rule, the forest fairies were usually good fairies. They answered wishes and so forth. But they could be very mischievous, too. That's why travelers tended to avoid them and never followed them off the path.

Breena looked around wildly. Danielle was sound asleep, singing softly under her breath. Wolf was still awake talking to his sister. She couldn't tell Wolf about this! He would kill her! But she couldn't let her friends do what she knew they were going to. Breena made a quick decision and zapped herself as close to the Fairy Forest as she could. Then, she used the last of her energy to do another zap and get her all the way. That second zap took so much out of her she could barely fly. But she had to stop her friends.

"Stop!" Breena yelled, "Trinity! Everyone, stop right now!"

Breena didn't know if they could hear her. She couldn't hear them. But she knew they had to be close by. She had to find them before it was too late for the Lady Virginia.

Virginia couldn't stand it anymore. What did the stupid fairies want?! She opened her mouth to ask them when she heard harp music. Where was it coming from? It sure was pretty, though. Kind of like those New Age tapes that you can always find in stores with those little sample tracks playing. Virginia yawned. The music was lulling her to sleep. It _was_ nighttime. And she was so tired. Maybe she could take a little nap. Virginia stretched out on the rock in the middle of the clearing. It was just the right shape for her to lay down on, almost as if it was made for her. She could vaguely hear the fairies giggling. Then, she fell asleep.

Wolf yawned. He was tired, but he didn't want to go to sleep. He wanted to spend all the time he had here with his sister. He had to go on in the morning to look for Virginia, but when this whole thing was over, he would come back and they could finish catching up on all the years they had been missing from each other.

"I always knew you'd make a great mom, Fiona." Wolf said, watching as Fiona rocked little baby Warren in her arms and sung him a lullaby.

Wolf knew that tune. He closed his eyes and sang along.

"Shepherdess is such a mess.

But little lambs are lovely.

The moon looks on as you sleep.

Don't cry, little wolfie." they both sang.

Fiona looked over at Wolf and smiled. Wolf opened his eyes and saw her smiling and smiled back shakily.

"Mom always sang that song. But I could never remember the last two lines." Wolf said with a sheepish grin, "I could never get past the lamb part."

"You always did have food on the brain." Fiona said.

Wolf grinned at that and wanted to reply that he had Virginia on the brain with food now, but he didn't get the chance. One moment he was sitting with his sister and the next…

"Cripes! Where am I?" Wolf asked, getting up off the forest floor.

"Wolf? Wolf!" Fiona cried, jumping to her feet.

Wolves all around started awake and looked at her. Dolphus ran over to her quickly. Fiona ignored them and ran over to Danielle. She shook her heavily with one hand while holding the baby in the other. Danielle groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"What?" she asked grumpily, squinting at her.

"Wolf disappeared!" Fiona cried.

Danielle sat straight up.

"What?"

"Wolf! He's gone! You have to find him!" Fiona said.

"Me?" Danielle asked, but got to her feet anyway, "Breena! Where's that stupid fairy when I need her? Breena!"

There was no answer. Danielle turned to Fiona in exasperation.

"You have any idea where he's gone?" she asked.

Fiona shook her head. Danielle sighed.

"Great." she said, trying to think, "It must have been that witch. Which means I had better hurry and get to that castle. Does that path lead to Wendell's castle?"

Fiona nodded. Danielle turned and headed towards the path, but Fiona caught her arm.

"Wait. Take some supplies with you." she said, hurrying to gather together some for her.

Fiona handed Danielle a waterskin and some left-overs from the dinner. Danielle took them and started for the path.

"No, not that way. Here, I'll lead you." Dolphus said, pointing her in the right direction.

Danielle nodded her thanks. She turned quickly back to Fiona before following Dolphus.

"Don't worry. I'll find him." she said solemnly.

Fiona nodded, but she looked scared and worried. Danielle mentally shrugged. The best thing she could do was hurry and get to the castle.

Breena felt Danielle calling her, but she knew that she couldn't have gotten back to her just now even if she had wanted to. She just didn't have the energy for a zap. And she was approaching the clearing at that moment anyway. Maybe she would be in time to stop Virginia from falling asleep.

For there was more magic in the clearing than just the fairies', the forest in itself was magic. Especially the clearing where the fairies had taken Virginia. The clearing had the power to make whatever dreams were dreamt in it to come true. But the only dreams possible in the clearing were nightmares. In the clearing, dreams came true, often to a very deadly and gruesome result.

"Trinity!" Breena called again weakly.

She was so worn out. She just wanted to find a good leaf and fall asleep. But she couldn't. She had to find Lady Virginia. Breena wasn't even sure why she was trying so hard to save a person she had never met. Forest fairies, or fairies in general, weren't known for loyalty. But Breena wasn't your normal forest fairy. The truth was, she had lied to Danielle. She had wanted to grant her wish. She hadn't just been the closest fairy. Breena was different from most fairies and was usually the one to grant wishes like the one Danielle had made. So Breena was trying to save Virginia. Not just because Virginia was a famous hero and might be a part of stopping that evil witch Danielle had told her of, but because she was Wolf's mate and Wolf was Danielle's friend.

"Oh, Breena. Why do let yourself get mixed up in these things?" she muttered to herself, then called out again, "Trinity! Garland! Chepi! Anyone!"

Breena heard the whispers of her kind and pushed her wings harder. She was almost there.

Suddenly, there was a buzz and Trinity was hovering in front of her.

"Breena! You look horrible!" she exclaimed.

Breena shook off the comment and pushed past Trinity.

"You didn't…let Lady Virginia fall asleep." Breena said, more hopeful than definite.

Trinity grabbed Breena's arm when she took a lurch to the ground and helped her over to the edge of the clearing. She frowned at Breena.

"She fell asleep, yes. We're waiting to see what happens." Trinity said.

"No!" Breena cried.

"What's wrong with you, Breena?" Trinity asked.

Just then, Wolf stumbled into the clearing. Something was wrong with him. He saw Virginia and fell on his knees next to her. Virginia seemed to come apart. One of her was there lying on the rock and the other was standing next to Wolf. Breena understood what she was seeing. The sleeping Virginia was her true form and the one standing was her dream-self.

Wolf didn't seem to see Virginia's true self. He only saw the dream one. He looked at Virginia in anguish.

"Virginia. Something's wrong with me." he said.

"What is it, Wolf?" Virginia asked, kneeling next to him and looking very worried, "Are you sick?"

"I don't…oh!" Wolf cried, falling over in pain.

"Wolf!" Virginia cried, "What's wrong? What can I do?"

"I don't know. I don't know." Wolf panted.

He looked like he was in a lot of pain. Breena understood. Virginia was having a nightmare of Wolf being sick (and dying most likely) and she couldn't do anything to help. There had to be something Breena could do to stop this. But it was almost impossible to wake someone from the sleep of the clearing. It had been done, sure. The most known occurrence would be the one that had happened back when this clearing had first become what it was. The Princess Briar-Rose, better known as Sleeping Beauty, had lived in this very woods. Of course, that was long ago and the castle she had lived in was barely a ring of ruins, but it was still a great tale. And it had proved once again that true love could break any curse.

True love! If true love had done it before, it could do it again. Wolf and Virginia were definitely in love. But was it true love? And even if it was, how would she use that? Breena pondered quickly while Wolf's condition worsened by the second. Thank, Breena, think! Wolf didn't have much longer. And from Virginia's exclamation and clutching at her stomach, the baby didn't either.

Queen Riding Hood slammed her hands down on the table and jumped to her feet. Which was hard to do in her slim riding boots.

"I will not stand for this!" she yelled at the gathered Council, "First, you allow Wendell to assume the throne without passing the standard test, then you allow these trolls to attend!"

"I agree with Red." Leaf Fall announced, "The trolls have never been active in the Council. Why are they here?"

"Because, you hot-headed brats, they are rulers of a kingdom, too, as disgusting as that kingdom may be." Cinderella snapped, but broke into coughing.

"Well, I never!" Riding Hood exclaimed.

"Bound to happen one of these days, girlie." Burly said.

"Nicey nice shoes, though." Blabberwort consoled her.

"Yeah." Bluebell agreed.

"You trolls have been attacking my border villages for years and you expect me to talk civilly with you?" Riding Hood demanded, incredulous.

"Would you sit down?" Hermann, the dwarf representative, asked irritably.

It aggravated him enough being around these people and having them all look down at him, he didn't need them standing up.

"Oh, shut up, shorty." she snapped in reply.

"Shorty!" Hermann cried, standing up in his chair so he was level with her.

With that, the Council of the 9 Kingdoms broke out into arguing. By the time they all left in disgust at the others, every kingdom had threatened war with the others except for the 4th, whose ruler was not present. And Queen Riding Hood had officially declared war on the trolls of the 3rd Kingdom, who seemed all too eager for it considering how badly their last war went.

Ivy thought about telling Faolan about her dream of Snow White, but she decided against it. She didn't know what she would do if he didn't believe her. So instead she walked silently along next to him as they made quick progress along the path. The sun was just now coming up, signaling a new day. Ivy wondered absently if the others were okay. Since she couldn't really do anything to help them and the last thing she needed was more worries on her mind, she didn't think about it too directly. But she did wonder if Danielle had had that dream about Snow White and if she knew what this place was.

Suddenly, Ivy felt the strong sensation of worry and the need to hurry. Ivy stopped in her tracks and gasped out loud at how sharp the sensation was. And the clear distinction that they weren't her feelings. And that she knew exactly who's they were. Ivy closed her eyes until the sensation passed.

"Ivy?" Faolan asked.

Ivy opened her eyes and saw he was looking at her, worriedly.

"What happened?" he asked.

Ivy shook her head.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that something bad happened to Danielle. She's very worried and she…she feels she needs to hurry before it's too late." Ivy said, trying to make sense of it herself.

"How…? How can you know that?" Faolan asked with a frown.

"I don't know." Ivy confessed, "I was wondering if she was okay and all of a sudden I felt what she was feeling."

Faolan didn't look too pleased with that. Randal, too, had now noticed that they weren't with him and had returned.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Not now, Randal." Faolan said off-handedly, "Have you always had this…ability?"

"No." Ivy said immediately, then felt the need to explain, "I…I used to be able to kind of know what people are thinking, but it might have just been because I knew them so well. I don't know. And, I used to have little dreams at night that would come true. It was weird. But never anything like this. Never anything this definite."

"Are you a witch?" Randal asked.

"No!" Ivy said quickly.

"Shush up, Randal." Faolan said with a little growl, "Are you okay now?"

Ivy nodded. But she really wasn't that okay. How had she been able to do that? Could she do it again?

"I'm going to test it." Ivy said suddenly.

Faolan shook his head.

"I don't think…" he began, but Ivy had already closed her eyes and started whatever it was she did.

Ivy concentrated on Faolan. That way, if it worked and she felt things again, he could tell her if it was right. She gasped again as a rush of feelings hit her with a distinct Faolan feel to them. She felt worry, but not as strong as Danielle's. Confusion, a little, too. And…

Ivy quickly broke off whatever connection there was. She opened her eyes quickly and looked down at her feet.

"Well?" Faolan asked.

"It works. I think." she said quietly.

"Who…?" Faolan started to ask, then his eyes went wide, "You didn't…"

Randal looked from his big brother to Ivy in confusion.

"Guys?" he asked.

"Randal, why don't you scout ahead?" Faolan said with a little too much force to the request.

Randal backed up, then turned around and started off. Something was definitely up, but since neither of them was going to tell him…well, there wasn't much he could do.

"You were…focusing…on me, weren't you?" Faolan asked.

Ivy nodded.

"So you….you know?" Faolan asked.

"I don't know anything." Ivy said softly.

"You're not the best liar, you know." he commented.

Ivy looked at him. She blinked in surprise.

"We…we should probably get moving." she said slowly.

Faolan nodded. They both started walking.

"Wolves mate for life, you know. At least, here they do." Faolan said.

Ivy didn't respond.

"You know how I feel about you."

"I…I don't want to talk about it." Ivy said quickly.

With that, she ran off to walk with Randal. Faolan looked after her.

"She _is_ scared of you, Faolan. Just maybe, not the way you thought." he said out loud.

Danielle ran as long as she could, then slowed to a walk, then ran again. She talked out loud to herself even though she knew she should save her breath.

"At least…your life….isn't boring…anymore, Danielle." she said in between breathes, "Too bad…you…weren't better….at gym. Should have….spent more time…staying….in shape…instead of….on the couch."

Danielle slowed to a walk and took a drink from her waterskin. She thought she had come pretty far. It was still morning (it had to be), but it seemed like she had been going forever. She hoped she would reach that castle soon.


	13. Chapter 13

-1"That's it!" Breena exclaimed.

She had figured it out! She knew what she had to do to save Wolf and Virginia and their unborn child! She had to get Wolf to see Virginia's true form. It was the only way. Breena flitted over in front of Wolf's face. He was fading fast and Virginia was going hysterical trying to help him. But her baby's condition was worsening, too, and she would be next.

How to get Wolf to see her, that was the first question. Breena was glad of the short rest she had gotten while she tried to think of a plan. It would help know. Breena used the last of the fairy magic she had and zapped Wolf with it. Wolf jumped and yipped in surprise. He saw Breena hovering for a second in front of him. But she couldn't fly anymore, she was too exhausted. She dropped out of the sky and to the ground. Wolf picked her up carefully.

"Breena?" he asked weakly.

"Yes." she coughed.

"Wolf? Who are you talking to? Are you delusional? Who's Breena?" Virginia asked in a too high voice.

"She's…" Wolf started to explain.

"No, don't tell her. She won't understand." Breena said quietly.

She couldn't muster the strength to talk any louder. Luckily, Wolf had excellent hearing. She hoped _he_ would understand.

"Listen, Wolf. I don't have the strength to repeat myself. That is not Virginia. It's just her dream-self. You have to ignore her. Look through her. You have to see the real Virginia and wake her up. If you don't, you will all die." Breena said.

"But…" Wolf protested.

Breena shook her head wearily.

"It's true. You're the only hope for all of you, Wolf. Please, try." Breena said and was still.

Wolf was worried about the little fairy who might very well be dead. Although he doubted it. A wolf could usually sense those things. And he didn't sense death from her. Just exhaustion. She had probably fainted.

But that wasn't the important thing. He could sense that he was fading fast. And that his little baby boy was, too. And Virginia wasn't all too well, either. If the fairy was right, he would have to ignore their suffering and his own. He didn't know if he could do that. But he would try. Anything to save Virginia and his cub.

Wolf pushed himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the pain it caused. He looked around, using his senses to the fullest. He sniffed and realized that the fairy was right! There was no smell coming from the Virginia that was trying to get him to lay back down. But Virginia's scent was close. He just had to reach her. Wolf couldn't get to his feet, so he got onto his hands and knees and crawled after the scent. He stopped when he felt a rock before him. Virginia, she was here.

Wolf felt with his hands and found her face. He held a hand over her mouth. She was breathing, but it was very shallow. Too shallow. He had to wake her up! Wolf placed both hands on either side of her face and leaned over and kissed her.

Suddenly, the other Virginia disappeared and Wolf could see the true love of his life. She opened her eyes and they were wide with fright. Wolf pulled back quickly. Virginia sat up and threw her arms around him.

"Wolf." she said with such distress in her voice that it made Wolf ache inside, "Oh, that was so horrible. Are you okay?"

Wolf nodded.

"Yes, yes. Huff-puff, I'm fine now." he assured her.

Virginia sighed, so glad to be awake from that dream. She couldn't believe Wolf was really here.

"I can't believe you're really here." she voiced her thought.

"Oh, I am. Don't worry. I won't ever leave you again." Wolf said.

His arms tightened around her and Virginia sighed again. She never ever wanted to be alone like that again.

Suddenly, they both heard clapping from all around the clearing. They looked around to see the fairies were the ones clapping.

Wolf growled.

"Why are you doing that? You caused all this!" he said angrily.

Trinity flew away from the others and over to them.

"We had to. It was foretold that one day, true love would be tested again and would win out in this clearing. And that when it did, the clearing would lose its power. Today's that day!" Trinity said and took up the clapping herself.

Virginia didn't care. Either way, those fairies had almost put her through the deaths of those closest to her. One of her greatest fears. No explanation would justify that to her. She just wanted the fairies to leave her and Wolf alone. The fairies must have sensed their hostility because they all began leaving. Except for Trinity. Who landed next to Breena, who was still lying, unmoving, on the ground.

"Breena, wake up." Trinity whispered.

Breena didn't stir. Trinity sighed and zapped Breena with her own magic. Breena started awake, looking around furiously. Trinity, seeing she was okay, took her leave quickly. Breena glared after her. Prophecy or no, they shouldn't have done that. At least, they wouldn't do it anymore now that the spell was broken.

Ivy made it a point to walk with Randal the entire day. She didn't want to be cold towards Faolan, so she talked with him and answered his questions as long as he didn't comment on that morning. She pointedly ignored that entire episode. She knew that it was annoying Faolan that she was doing that, but he didn't confront her on it.

"Do you read about wolves often?" Faolan asked, pointing to her backpack to indicate the book she had.

Ivy shrugged.

"I read about a lot of things. I've read every book in the county library at home on horses, orca whales, dolphins. I've read a ton of fantasy books. I read a big, huge book of Grimm's fairy tales. They aren't as mushy as Disney makes them seem. They can be pretty gruesome." Ivy commented.

"Who is this Disney?" Faolan asked.

"And what's an orca whale?" Randal piped in.

Ivy brightened at the chance to explain about one of her very favorite animals. She might have a little trouble explaining Disney, though.

"An orca is the biggest member of the dolphin family, but they call them whales anyway for some unknown reason. They are also called killer whales, but I don't like that name. It makes the whales sound bad." Ivy started explaining, picturing Shamu and Free Willy in her mind.

Breena landed on the rock next to Virginia and Wolf. Wolf turned to her.

"Thank you." he said sincerely, "Huff-puff, I could have lost my Virginia and my little cub!"

Breena nodded her acceptance.

"You're welcome. I would like to get us all out of here now, but I don't have near enough strength. We are close to Wendell's Castle, though. By this evening, I should be able to zap again and find Danielle." she said before he could ask.

Wolf nodded, knowing that there was nothing else to be done.

Leaf Fall had tried to organize another meeting for the Council of the 9 Kingdoms. After the last meeting, she had gone off by herself to think and to cool off. She had come to the decision that they had to meet again. The 9 Kingdoms could _not_ break out in war! She could not let that happen!

But Leaf Fall's attempts were thwarted. Her pleas through her messengers had been turned down with the added warning that any farther presence in their kingdoms would be considered an act of war. She couldn't risk that either. So Leaf Fall sat in her castle, angry at the ungrateful, bratty, stupid rulers of the other kingdoms.

"I tried! I did try! No one can deny that I did! But did they listen? No. Of course not. They have to go and be hair-brained imbeciles!" she fumed, pacing in her throne room, "I can stand it no longer! Summon my general!"

A servant hurried to do as she commanded. Leaf Fall slumped in her throne. It had been specially crafted to accommodate her wings.

"If it's war they want, then it's war they will get." she said quietly.

Commander Forswell felt very much like banging his head on his conference table. Instead he gulped down another mug of ale. Where in the fairying forest was Wendell? And why did he keep disappearing at the worst possible times? This was no tradition for a king, for Snow White's sake! With armies mounting on every border, Forswell had been forced to increase the border guards just to handle skirmishes. He had sent countless messengers to the Castle and still he had received no orders. If this kept up he would just have to take command himself, to the Swamp with Wendell. He cared about this kingdom and he'd be damned and drugged with magic mushrooms if he let it get crushed by the armies of the other 8.

A lieutenant entered his cabin and saluted. He quickly waved aside the formalities.

"Any word, commander?" he asked, "The Troll Border is getting harder and harder to hold."

Forswell shook his head and was about to pour himself another round of ale, but chucked the mug aside and took a swig from the bottle itself.

"Your orders, sir?" the lieutenant asked, nervously shifting from foot to foot.

"Do what you have to, lieutenant. I'll send more men when I get them." Forswell assured him and dismissed him quickly.

The Commander picked up his map of the kingdoms and spread it out on the table, weighing down the corners with his ale bottle and his arm. With his free hand he traced the advances in the borders. This wasn't good. Not good at all.

Danielle was still running as night fell. She had surprised herself making it this far. She never knew that she had this much stamina. Although, she had never really wanted to know. The truth was she was kind of a couch potato. But now that she needed to keep going, it was good to find she could. Of course, every time she tired, she just reminded herself of how much trouble she would have been in with that wolf pack if not for Wolf. And of how happy he and Fiona had been to find that they were both still alive. And of how worried Fiona had been when she had left.

Danielle was panting so hard she could barely breathe. Every muscle in her body hurt. But she felt she had made it a long way. She had left the thick forest sometime in the early afternoon. But no matter how far she had come, she still wasn't in sight of that castle.

"Just a little farther tonight, Danielle. You'll get there tomorrow. What good will you be to anyone, panting and worn out? Just find some water and a place to sleep, Danielle." she said to herself.

When Danielle heard the little trickling sound of running water, she nearly fainted from relief. And when she actually found the source, she dropped to her knees and crawled over. She remembered enough not to drink too fast. She didn't need a cramp or a stomachache on top of everything. When she had had her fill, she sat back and looked around. She might as well stay here. She really didn't have the energy to go any farther. She didn't think she could stand up at that moment if her life depended on it.

A ribbit right next to her made her jump and give a little yelp of surprise. She turned to see a frog had hopped up right next to her when she wasn't looking. But what…the frog was wearing a crown and cloak! Danielle carefully caught the frog (who really hadn't put up any fight at all) and picked it up.

"It's about time one of you found your way back." the frog said indignantly.

Danielle screamed again and jumped to her feet. Well, maybe she could get to her feet after all.

"What the…? Who…? How…?" Danielle sputtered, backing away from the frog slowly.

"I'm King Wendell. The dog. That stupid witch turned me into a frog." the frog reported.

Danielle pointed at the frog and her eyes went wide.

"You're the…oh, my god!" Danielle said and swayed on her feet, terribly close to fainting.

"Get a hold of yourself." Wendell snapped, "Pick me up and let's get back to the others."

Danielle shook her head to clear it and gently picked up the frog.

"But how do you get…un-frogged? What breaks the spell?" she asked as she slowly started walking.

"Not that way. The other way." Wendell corrected her, "Well, let me think. This has happened before. Let's see, I believe a princess let a frog stay with her for three days, then cut off it's head and broke the spell. That way is not an option. I like my head where it is. Um…"

Danielle stopped and she, too, tried to think. What was it about that story? Oh, yes!

"Wasn't there one about a princess kissing the frog and turning him into a handsome prince?" Danielle asked.

"Yes! That's it!" Wendell agreed, "But where will we find a princess at this hour. I simply cannot stay a frog another day."

Danielle thought about it, but she really didn't know where to find a princess. Even if she knew a….uh oh. No way! Uh uh. Not going to happen! She was not going to tell him that she had played a princess in the last play she had been in or that in the stories she and Ivy liked to write, that she was princess in a place called Venos. That didn't count anyway, did it?

The frog made a sound that was kind of like a sigh.

"Any ideas?" he asked, as if it was really the all-time last reserve to ask her for her thoughts.

"As a matter of fact, yes. But I am not going to tell you." Danielle said, returning the snooty royal attitude right back at him.

She had always kind of felt that she was a princess at heart. She could sure do the royal attitude thing well. And sparkly crowns were always a good thing.

Wendell stared at her in what could have been shock. She wasn't sure if it was about her attitude or about her statement. Maybe both.

"I command you to tell me!" Wendell said, but there was a note in his voice as if he was unsure that would work.

"I am not one of your subjects, Wendell." she said, dropping his title.

"But…but…" he protested weakly, "Oh, I give up. I'm going to spend the rest of my life as a frog. Which will probably be a very short time anyway with that witch on my throne."

Danielle grimaced. He was playing for her sympathy. And that whiny voice was not helping.

"Stop that or I throw you." she warned.

Wendell was silent quickly. He had never been ordered around like that. Well, except maybe by his parents and, when he was really young, his nanny.

"Please tell me." he said finally, so quiet that she had to lean in to hear him.

Danielle sighed. She really, really, _really_ did not want to tell him. But how could she refuse that? His voice just sounded so…pathetic wasn't a good word. He was desperate for her help. She had gotten a king to say please. She couldn't just say no.

"Oh, alright. I don't even know if this counts, but I…my character…is a princess in these stories that Ivy and I write. And I played the princess in my last play." Danielle admitted and fake coughed.

Wendell looked excited.

"That's close enough!" he said, "Okay, quick. Kiss me."

"I am _not_ going to kiss you!" Danielle cried.

"Oh, come on. It's not going to mean anything. I just want to be a human again." Wendell pleaded.

"No! No way!" Danielle protested, "I will not kiss a frog!"

"But I'm not a frog! Not really. Don't think of it as kissing a frog, think of it as helping a king."

"Nothing doing." Danielle shook her head.

"You are being completely unreasonable." Wendell objected.

"I am not, you are! Asking me to kiss you, king or no king. Frog or no frog. You can just forget it. And don't try that please thing either." Danielle warned, shaking her finger at him.

"It's not fair, you know. A dog I could handle, but a frog! And why, why, why do I have to deal with another evil witch? How many evil witches are there?" Wendell demanded, "All I am asking is for you to help me get my body back. I'm no help to anyone like this. I can't rule my kingdom as a talking frog. If we can even get my kingdom back. You have to help me."

Danielle's eyes widened when she saw what he was going to say next.

"No…" she began.

"Please?"

Danielle sighed again. She gave him a dirty look.

"That was low. I said no please stuff." she said.

"So, you'll help me?" Wendell asked, excited again.

Danielle nodded slowly.

"Yes. But this is it! And you owe me big time for this, too." Danielle said.

"Yes, yes. Of course. Could you…um…get on with it…uh…please?" Wendell asked.

Danielle raised the frog up near her face. She was not going to like this. She closed her eyes tight and decided she had better get this over with. Danielle quickly kissed the frog. There was a bit of a spark and she felt a little like she was spinning. Danielle opened her eyes, almost involuntarily. And saw she was now kissing a young man with blonde hair and an aristocratic face. Danielle jerked backwards so hard that she fell on her butt. She stared at Wendell.

Wendell patted his arms and legs as if he couldn't believe that he was human. His eyes got wide and he started beaming.

"I'm me again!" he cried happily.

Danielle just blinked. Wendell dropped on one knee next to her, forgetting about acting kingly for a moment.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will never be able to thank you enough." he said.

Danielle opened her mouth to reply, but for once in her life, she couldn't get anything to come out. Wendell looked at her with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Danielle blinked again and finally got her voice to work.

"So…so, you're the guy, huh?" she asked finally and felt like smacking herself for saying something so stupid.

"Pardon?" Wendell looked confused.

Danielle shook her head.

"You said that there were others nearby?" she asked instead.

"Oh, yes! Anthony and Maive and Cinnamon. Won't they be surprised to see me back?" he laughed happily and helped Danielle to her feet, "When this is all over, you can be assured that you will get the finest treatment in my castle. My kingdom!"

Danielle nodded absently. She was really too tired for this. Much, much too tired.

"Um…Wendell…er, King Wendell? I'm just going to go to sleep 'cause I'm really, really tired. I've been running all day looking for Wolf and I just don't have the…" Danielle started laying down as she explained and cut off when she broke into a yawn.

Wendell backed off. He nodded.

"Right. Of course. You can talk to them in the morning." he agreed, still backing off.

Danielle sighed once again and fell asleep before Wendell even finished talking. She was too tired to even sing in her sleep.

Marissa paused in front of the mirror for spying. Her hand traced the etching on the frame. She hadn't meant to come in here, but she could get those two stupid girls out of her head. How did they block her magic? How? And what if they had not been killed? The suspicion and doubt about them had kept her from sleeping all night and had finally pushed her to the mirror.

Marissa turned the mirror on and commanded it to seek out the girls. A picture formed of the dark-haired girl sleeping on the ground. So, at least one of them had survived. Marissa waved her hand at the mirror and asked it to show the other. The picture changed to one of the blonde girl. She was walking next to a young boy. A young man followed after. Her companions weren't human. She could sense that. But what they were, she wasn't sure.

"So you've both survived, then. Good girls." Marissa mused.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall.

Those girls will bring about your fall.

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

You cannot fight them all."

Marissa spun around to see a face in one of the mirrors.

"What mirror are you?" she demanded.

"My name is of no concern

For I tell it only to those who it earn." the mirror said.

Marissa's mouth twitched angrily.

"You say these girls will defeat me? How?" she asked.

"If together they do stand

The rose will drop from your hand.

If against you they do turn their will.

You can be sure that you they will kill."

Marissa paced before the mirror.

"What then? What must I do?" she asked, spinning towards the mirror, "How can I stop them from turning against me?"

"Find the weakness inside each.

Then victory is in your reach.

But opposition you will meet.

For not only the living will oppose the feat.

A woman known as Snow

Helps them in their journey, so." with that the mirror darkened.

Marissa pondered what it had said. A weakness. She would have to weed out their weaknesses if she wished to win. At least she was good at that. But the mirror had said more. Something about opposition and snow.

"Snow…Snow White! But she's dead!" Marissa protested.

But wait! Weren't there rumors that Snow White had become some kind of fairy godmother. That she had even helped in defeating the Evil Queen. Maybe she was helping these girls now.

"This will be more difficult than I anticipated." Marissa said.

She would have to get to work. But wait… She already knew of a major weakness for more than one of her opponents. The full moon.

"It has never been done before." she hesitated, but a wicked grin spread across her face, "There really is a first time for everything."

"Can we build a fire tonight?"

Faolan looked a little nervous about that. He glanced over his should as if even mentioning a fire would bring someone down on them. He wanted to refuse the fire idea, but he saw that she was shivering even with her jacket and Randal seemed cold, too.

"Oh, alright." he agreed, "But I will stand watch, just in case."

Ivy nodded in vigorous agreement.

"If you want, I'll go get the wood." she offered.

"No, I'll get it." Faolan shook his head.

"Would you stop being so…I don't know, stubborn. I can do something, you know. I'm not helpless." Ivy protested.

She hated it when people treated her like she couldn't do anything. It grated on her nerves. Faolan must have sensed that she felt that way because he raised his hands in defeat.

"Okay. Have it your way. Huff-puff." he said.

The three of them looked around and all silently agreed that where they were was as good a spot as any for the night. Randal began collecting rocks for a fire-pit. Faolan nodded approval and half-turned to go off into the woods for the wood. He looked at Ivy and raised an eyebrow. Ivy nodded, yes she was coming.

"Be right back, Randal." she said quickly and hurried after Faolan.

They didn't say anything as they walked in the woods, just picked up sticks quietly. The silence was okay at first, but it started getting uncomfortable and Ivy felt she had to say something. She looked around for something she could talk about and something made her look up.

"Oh, my god." she said, dropping all the sticks she was holding.

"What? Grrrr, stop goofing around and help me, would you? You said you could do something." Faolan said a little snippishly.

When Ivy didn't move or respond, he sighed and walked over to her.

"What are you…oooooh!" he said, looking up and seeing the moon.

"The moon's full. That's impossible. It wasn't even close the other night." Ivy whispered, so astonished that she couldn't speak any louder than that.

"Oh, who cares about that? Look at that moon. Isn't it the most beautiful thing?" Faolan asked. He turned to Ivy quickly, "Howl with me."

"What?" Ivy asked, startled.

"Howl with me. At the moon. It's not that complicated." Faolan said, as if she were being incredibly dumb.

"I don't think so." Ivy shook her head.

Faolan's look darkened and Ivy heard the low growl forming in his throat.

"Um…okay." she said quickly.

Whatever happened to Faolan on the full moon that made him act like this, she didn't think it would be a good idea to make him mad and see what happened. Best just to go along.

Faolan's entire expression changed and he grinned.

"But…I…I don't…I've never…" Ivy stammered.

Faolan's eyes widened as if he were surprised.

"Oh, it's easy. Just look at the moon and just howl. Just let your feelings flow. I'll start." he said.

Faolan tilted his head back and let loose with a long howl. Ivy hesitantly joined in. It wasn't that bad. Of course, she did feel a little silly. If she did this at home, they would lock her up and throw away the key and then barricade the door just in case. But she wasn't at home now, was she? Both howls drifted off and stopped. Faolan looked at her.

"See, I knew you could howl. I told you I'd teach you to be a wolf. Okay, next lesson. We're going to need to find a sheep. Or a rabbit. Chickens would work." Faolan's mind started drifting and he started rambling under his breath about chickens, sheep, and rabbits.

Ivy was really getting creeped out. Faolan had been right before when he had said she didn't know what happened on the full moon.

"Uh…Faolan?" she asked hesitantly.

"Hmmm?"

"Shouldn't we get back to making that fire?"

"Which fires that?" he asked, sniffing the air.

"The one we were gathering wood for just a minute ago." Ivy said a little impatiently.

"Oh. That fire. If we have to. But wouldn't it be more fun to track down a little bouncy rabbit?" Faolan asked.

Ivy tugged on his arm and pulled him back towards their camp.

"No, I really think we should get back." Ivy insisted.

Faolan sighed and rolled his eyes. He let himself be pulled back to their little camp area.

"That was a good howl!" Randal said when they came into view.

"Thanks." Ivy said absently.

"What's for dinner?" Randal asked.

"Mmmm, dinner…" Faolan mused.

Ivy was glad at least that Randal didn't seem as bad as Faolan was. He did seem a little edgy, though. And he had been grumpy and moody before. But still…

"Maybe we should skip dinner…" Ivy suggested, her mind coming up with some scary ideas about dinner.

"Skip dinner?" Faolan asked as if she had spoken blasphemy, "No, no, no!"

Randal, too, seemed astounded at her suggestion.

"I'm too hungry." he whined.

"See. I knew we should have found a rabbit. No, two rabbits. Oh, I could eat a dozen, I'm so hungry." Faolan muttered.

"I don't think we'll be able to find a dozen rabbits." Ivy said slowly.

"Mmmm, probably not. Well, as many as we can find. You humans really need to learn the magnificence of raw…I mean, rare meat." he said and turned to bound back into the woods.

Ivy didn't want to leave Randal and she didn't feel to comfortable with being alone with Faolan right now, either. But she couldn't let him go off on his own. Who knew what he would do?

"Randal, stay put." she called over her shoulder as she ran after Faolan.

He grumbled something, but looked like he would do as he was told. Good. Now to find Faolan.

Virginia, Wolf, and Breena walked back to the path and followed it for the rest of the day. Breena rode on Virginia's shoulder this time. But as night fell and they still hadn't reached the castle, Wolf grew edgy.

"I'm hungry." he said, bounding from on side of the road to the other.

"What else is new?" Virginia said with a small smile at his antics.

Wolf growled in annoyance.

"Don't patronize me!" he snapped.

Virginia stopped in her tracks, she was so surprised at his outburst. Wolf only acted like this during the full moon. But it wasn't a full moon yet. It couldn't be.

Virginia looked around and finally found a perfectly full moon rising in the night sky.

"It can't be…" she said.

Breena followed her line of sight and saw the moon. The fairy shook her head.

"How…?" she asked.

"Wolf?" Virginia asked and forcefully broke off her staring at the moon. She looked around and didn't see him anywhere, "Wolf!"

Breena and Virginia exchanged a worried look.

"He's gone." they both said.

Virginia started yelling Wolf's name louder and searching frantically with Breena hanging onto her for dear life.

Wendell was so incredibly happy to be back that he almost ran back to the others. He restrained himself to a very quick walk.

"Anthony!" he called.

Tony turned around where he was sitting on the ground. He did a double-take when he saw that Wendell was human. He jumped to his feet.

"Pri…I mean, Wendell, you're human!" he cried.

"How?" Maive demanded, getting to her feet as well.

Wendell hurried over to them.

"You won't believe it. I found one of the girls, Danielle. She played a princess in a play and something about stories, but the point is she kissed me and turned me human again!" Wendell said quickly.

"Yes, I suppose that would work." Maive admitted.

"Where is she, then?" Tony asked, looking behind Wendell as if he might be hiding her.

"Oh, she was very tired and fell asleep over the hill, but I'm back!" Wendell insisted.

"That's great, Wendy." Tony said absently and turned to go back to his spot.

Maive had already lost interest and was reading some kind of scroll. Wendell frowned. This wasn't the response he had been hoping for. Where were the "Oh, it's so good to have you back to yourself, Wendell" 's and the "It's such a relief that you're you again, Wendy" 's. Did they even care? And what about that Cinnamon girl? She hadn't even looked up.

"Um…you three don't seem to understand. I'm no longer a frog!" Wendell said.

"Oh, we understand." Tony insisted.

"Uh huh." Maive agreed with a nod.

Cinnamon didn't comment.

"Is there something wrong with her?" Wendell asked, pointing at Cinnamon.

A growl came from Cinnamon's direction. That got Tony and Maive's attention.

"You can at least address me, you know! I'm not just some animal that you ask the owners if it's safe to pet." Cinnamon said angrily and, when she looked up, her eyes were glowing.

Everyone backed up a few paces from her. Maive looked at the sky and saw the moon.

"No." she said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"The moon." Maive gestured, "It's full."

"Oh, yes. You're a sharp one." Cinnamon said sarcastically, taking a step towards them, "You know if it weren't for you guys messing up this whole situation with that witch, I wouldn't even be here. I'd be home in the 5th Kingdom munching on a rabbit. Maybe a squirrel. Or maybe I'd come across a little farm. With sheep and chickens and pigs. The farmer would fall asleep and the shepherds would get careless. I'd be in and out before they even knew what happened."

Wendell, Tony, and Maive exchanged worried looks. They backed up again as Cinnamon stepped closer.

"You humans aren't too great at guarding against wolves. You think you know us. You think you know what we'll do. But you can't know. If you did, you would be a wolf." Cinnamon said with a predatory grin.

Tony was sure he saw fangs in that grin. He didn't like the way this was going. He had seen the damage Wolf had done to those chickens in Little Lamb Village. Tony did _not_ want the same kind of damage done to him. He looked at Maive and Wendell, wondering if either of them had a plan.

Cinnamon's eyes dimmed and she shook her head.

"What am I doing? Why is it a full moon already? What's happening?" she asked frantically. She was so worried, she started panting, "I can't be near you three, I might do something bad. I've got to get away!"

Cinnamon spun and ran off. Neither of the three humans moved. They were all breathing hard.

"What do we do?" Tony asked finally.

"What can we do?" Maive challenged.

Tony shook his head.

"I don't know. But we have to do something. We can't just sit around here. Can we?"

"No." Wendell shook his head, "You're right, Anthony. We have to do something. But you're right, too, Maive. There isn't much we can do."

Tony glared at him.

"Don't pull that crap. You got an idea?" he demanded.

"I think we should stand watch for Cinnamon until the full moon is over. Beyond that, I don't know." Wendell admitted.

Maive and Tony both nodded agreement.

"Watches would be a good idea." Maive said, "I'll take first watch."

Wendell and Tony both slowly sat down. Maive found a spot on a tree stump and looked around cautiously before seating herself. They were all very quiet, listening for any sound of Cinnamon. After a few moments they heard a howl pierce the air that sent shivers down their spines.

Suddenly, Wendell's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet.

"Danielle! She's all alone!" he cried and ran back the way he had come.

Tony and Maive followed him slowly. They both glanced around nervously, imagining they saw the gleam of eyes in the bushes or heard a rustle from behind them.


	14. Chapter 14

-1"Faolan, where are you?" Ivy called, straining all her senses trying to find him.

He had gotten ahead of her and she had lost him. There was a slight noise to her right and she spun that way, but didn't see anything.

"Faolan?" she asked uncertainly.

Suddenly, Ivy was knocked down from behind. She twisted as she fell so she landed on her back. Faolan had pounced on her. He landed next to her and placed an arm on either side of her, trapping her. He sniffed at her and made a whining noise.

"I like your smell." he commented.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, trying to shove him away.

Faolan caught her hands and forced them down. His eyes flashed.

"I could eat you." he growled.

Ivy couldn't respond. She was frozen, staring into his eyes. They dimmed all of a sudden and he jumped back to his feet. He paced in front of her and she just stared at him, still frozen.

"Oooooh, this is bad. I'm bad. The moon….and you. I can't control myself. You should run away from here. No, then I might chase you and who knows what I'd do when I caught you. I…" Faolan broke off as he crumbled back to the ground clutching his middle.

"W…what's wrong?" Ivy asked quietly.

She slowly crawled over to him. She hesitated a moment before touching his arm to get his attention. He jerked at her touch and she snatched her hand back. But he grabbed it and pressed it against his cheek.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. Just cramps." he panted.

He was breaking out in a sweat and he started moaning. He didn't look too good.

"It hurts, though." he said, his grip on her hand getting painfully tight.

Ivy didn't protest. She hoped it helped.

"Should I get you some water or something?" she asked getting to her feet to do as she offered.

"No!" he yelled, jerking her back. He quickly lowered his voice, "No. You stay. Stay with me."

"Okay." Ivy nodded, forgetting that she had been afraid of him only a moment ago.

Now all she wanted was to help him. She understood cramps at least. And he was really hurting.

"What's happening to you?" she asked.

Faolan growled, but Ivy thought it was at the question, not her.

"Every full moon my…um…cycle comes on. It's something wolves have to deal with. I get really angry and irrational and…hungry. Randal is too young to have it very bad. He doesn't change yet. I do. I will. And I don't want you around when that happens. I could hurt you. Or worse even." Faolan gulped.

Ivy was silent. What could she say to that? It was another one of those things that had no real response to it. Plus, she had to absorb what she was hearing. The part of her that was rational and dealt with every day society and reality said it was impossible and balked at his explanation. Of course, that part of her had balked at this entire world. That part of her had no place here. So she stuck with the flexible part of her that said to heck with reality and just accepted the situation as it was. That was the part of her she used the most anyway. The part of her that daydreamed of worlds like this. Funny, she had never imagined kneeling on the ground next to a young man who was part wolf and was suffering from cramps as a side effect of the full moon.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" he demanded moodily.

"What do you want me to say?" Ivy replied angrily, his tone getting to her.

He whimpered and rubbed his face against the hand that he still held.

"I don't know." he said quietly, his whole manner changing in an instant and making her feel guilty about her outburst, "I know you're scared of me. You probably hate me, now."

He got angry again and continued.

"Huff-puff, everyone hates wolves. And why? What did we do? We were just being ourselves! Okay, so maybe a few of the wolves in the past did some bad things. Maybe some wolves in the present did some bad things. But it's not like humans never did anything wrong!" he was growling again.

"I agree." Ivy nodded, "You're right. I've always felt that way. Wolves are always the bad guys in fairy tales. There has to be more to the story then what is told. And not every wolf can be that way. Judging from the wolves I've met, I think I dislike humans more than wolves, myself."

Faolan seemed startled.

"Cripes, you do?" he asked, then turned away from her, "You're lying. You don't mean that."

"Come on. You haven't known me long, but it doesn't take long to know that I don't say things I don't mean." Ivy said.

Faolan looked at her again and was quiet. Neither of them said anything for a moment, before Faolan sprang to his feet again. Ivy looked at him in surprise.

"Cramps have passed." he explained, "I feel great again."

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically.

"Oh huff, of course I'm sure. Let's howl again." he said and pulled her to her feet.

He howled, but this time Ivy didn't join in. She was too worried. What would happen next?

Wendell ran over the hill to see a wolf standing over Danielle's sleeping form.

"Danielle!" he yelled loudly.

The wolf looked over at him and Wendell somehow recognized her as Cinnamon.

Danielle jerked awake to the sound of her name being shouted. The first thing she saw was reddish fir. Her mind processed what she was seeing and she saw it was a wolf standing over her. Her movement caused the wolf to growl and bare it's teeth. Danielle scooted backwards fearfully. The wolf growled louder and raised it's hackles. Danielle froze, realizing her moving was making it worse.

Tony and Maive arrived and the wolf, seeing that it was outnumbered, ran off. Wendell hurried over to see if Danielle was alright. He owed her. She had saved him. Now he was saving her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Danielle nodded, her eyes wide with fright. She normally wouldn't be this afraid, but waking up that close to an angry wolf's fangs…that was enough to make anyone feel like peeing their pants.

"W…w…what…?" she tried to ask.

"It's Cinnamon. The full moon affects wolves here and somehow it's full moon tonight. She changed." Wendell tried to explain.

Danielle was clueless as to what he was talking about.

"That…that was the girl?" she asked in disbelief, "She's a…werewolf?"

"'Were' means half, so yes. She is." Maive said from behind them.

"She's Oz? Woah." Danielle said, shaking her head.

That got confused looks from all of them, even Tony.

"Buffy." she explained.

Wendell and Maive still looked completely confused. Tony thought he knew what she was talking about.

"The Vampire Slayer?" he asked.

"Yeah. You watch?" Danielle asked as if nothing had happened.

Tony shook his head at the pure insanity of this girl.

"You don't get it. She could have…probably would have killed you." Tony insisted, "You're lucky that we got here in time to scare her off."

"I probably am." Danielle agreed, "But it's over. What's the use dwelling on it? If it's the full moon doing this, we have two more nights to worry about."

Tony groaned.

"After this, no more wolves. None. This is absolutely the last time I am traveling with a wolf."

Virginia found Wolf moaning on the forest floor. Cramps had caught up to him, it seemed. She dropped down on her knees next to him.

"Wolf, you can't run off like that…" she began.

"There you go again with my list of can and can'ts. You are not my mother! They burned my mother, remember." Wolf growled.

"Wolf…" she tried again in a reasoning voice.

"Maybe it's because your mother abandoned you. Is that why you have to mother and smother everybody? Well, stop it! I don't like it!" Wolf interrupted.

That had hurt. Virginia felt her eyes well up and wiped at them quickly. It wasn't his fault. It was his cycle. It probably didn't help either that it was way too early for it.

"Do you need a rabbit?" Virginia offered hesitantly.

Wolf closed his eyes at the mention of a rabbit, as if envisioning it.

"Mmmm, a rabbit. Yes, a rabbit would be nice. You know I like the long-eared ones, right?"

Virginia nodded. It kind of disgusted her, since she knew what would happen to any rabbit she brought him, but it was better a rabbit than a coup of chickens in a nearby village. Or a person.

"Breena'll stay with you while I go find one. Okay?" she said, brushing his hair out of his face.

Wolf nodded, but he was staring past her at the moon.

Virginia rose and backed away slowly, looking at Wolf worriedly. Breena landed near him and nodded at her. She would keep an eye on him. Virginia turned and went to look for a rabbit. How she would catch one, she had no idea. It wasn't like last time when she had picked one up out of someone's rabbit hutch in Little Lamb Village. She would have to actually catch a wild rabbit.

"What I do for you, Wolf." she said to herself with a small shake of her head, "This had better turn out better than Little Lamb…wait a minute!"

Virginia stopped in her tracks. Something didn't make sense. Wolf had gotten a spell to release him of the full moon. It had worked during the last one. How come Wolf was back to feeling the full moon again?

Virginia smacked herself in the forehead.

"Duh, Virginia. Like the witch is going to help you out and let Wolf stand by during this full moon." she said to herself, "Find a rabbit, girl. Just find a rabbit."

Faolan ran ahead of her, sniffing. Ivy followed him quickly, not wanting him to get out of her sight, but he lost her again. She stopped and opened her mouth to call out to him when she was pulled down into the bushes. Faolan motioned quickly for her to be silent. His eyes were bright and he seemed excited. He pointed through the bushes and Ivy peered through to see a little rabbit poking around. Ivy pulled back and shook her head no at him, but he nodded and stopped her silent protest by placing his hands on her face.

"You watch me." he mouthed at her, "Then, you try."

Then, before she could refuse, he turned away and pounced through the bush on the rabbit. He was on hands and knees with the rabbit pinned under his hands. He looked so wolfish he might as well have been one. His tail was even wagging back and forth behind him.

"Okay. Come on." he called back to her.

Ivy hesitantly stood up and stepped out into the tiny clearing.

"I want you to eat some of this rabbit. You haven't been eating nearly enough just chewing on that jerky." he said without looking at her.

The rabbit struggled wildly and he growled at it.

"No!" Ivy said, feeling appalled in spite of herself.

This time Faolan did growl at her.

"Yes. You _will_ eat some rabbit." he said in a dangerously low voice and flashed his eyes at her.

Ivy shook off the effects of his eyes.

"No!" she yelled and ran back the way they had come.

Faolan followed her with his eyes and thought about chasing her, but the rabbit struggled again under his hands and drew his attention back to it. He grinned and there were fangs in his grin. He snarled at the rabbit and it froze in fear.

Ivy burst through the trees back to the camp. Randal jumped awake and growled at her grumpily.

"Where's my brother?" he asked.

"I don't know." Ivy said, "I thought you were too hungry to skip dinner."

"I was. I got my own rabbit, thank you." Randal said with a curt nod of his head.

He sat down and stared up at the moon.

"I like the moon." he told her, "During the full moon I can hear and smell and see everything!"

Randal sniffed, then looked at Ivy in surprise.

"You're afraid." he said.

Ivy started to say no, but gave up.

"Yes, I am."

Virginia wandered aimlessly looking for a stupid rabbit. She heard a little rustle and froze. A rabbit hopped slowly out of hiding. Virginia held her breath. She didn't want to scare it away. Ever so slowly Virginia lowered herself down to where she could jump and catch the rabbit. The rabbit froze for a moment, then continued eating and hopping slowly around.

There was another rustle and both the rabbit and Virginia froze. A wolf emerged from the darkness. A red wolf. It growled low in its throat and bared its teeth. It was growling at Virginia.

Wolf sat up. The cramps were gone, but he felt the change coming. He didn't want to change. No, not with Virginia out in the woods somewhere all alone. But he couldn't stop it. Wolf's eyes glowed and he felt fangs grow in his mouth. He twisted as his body changed until he was all wolf. He absently heard frightened noises coming from the fairy, but he ignored her. Fairies were bad to eat. Wolf raised his nose to the air and caught the scent of another wolf nearby. And close to that scent was that of a human. But this human had another scent mixed in with hers, her mate's scent. It took a moment, but Wolf recognized that other scent was his! That she-wolf was going to attack his mate!

Wolf tilted back his head and howled before racing towards the two scents.

Cinnamon took a slow step closer to the human. She could smell the scent of another wolf on her. And that she was carrying a wolf-cub. But Cinnamon didn't care. She was too hungry to care. The human's fear was strong. This situation seemed all too familiar, but Cinnamon's wolf mind dismissed all that. All it cared was that she had found fresh meat.

A howl broke through the air, drawing both her and the human's attention. Cinnamon sniffed. It was another wolf, the human's mate. Even as a wolf that seemed a little strange to her.

Suddenly, the owner of that howl appeared. He growled and placed himself between her and the human. Cinnamon growled back, but backed off. She didn't want the human bad enough to fight its mate.

Virginia let her breath out and her entire body shuddered. She couldn't feel her legs and she couldn't seem to move. Her heart was beating so hard inside her chest that it hurt.

Wolf, she knew it was him, looked back at her. Then he trotted off. It took Virginia a few long moments before she was able to move. She hurried back to the place where she had left Wolf with Breena. She found the fairy sitting on the same leaf she had been, hugging her knees. When she saw Virginia she quickly got to her feet.

"I'm sorry. He changed and I didn't know what to do." Breena apologized quickly.

"I know, Breena." Virginia stopped her.

Virginia plunked down on the grass next to Breena's leaf. She shivered and rubbed her arms. She did not want to go through another 48 hours of this.

"Miss, are you alright?" Breena asked hesitantly.

"I'd be better if this were all over." Virginia sighed.

Ivy paced nervously. Randal scratched his nose and growled at her irritably.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked.

"I'm nervous." Ivy replied. She stopped suddenly and turned towards Randal, "If we kept moving, would your brother track us?"

Randal rolled his eyes.

"Are you kidding?" he said in answer.

Ivy nodded, satisfied.

"Okay. Good. Let's get moving." she said, adjusting the straps on her backpack and starting off.

Randal grumbled some more and kicked apart the stones he had arranged for a fire-pit. He ran after Ivy and quickly caught up to her.

"Next time you're going to not collect firewood, tell me not to make a fire-pit." he said moodily.

When day broke, Ivy and Randal found themselves just outside a village. The entire village seemed to be colored pink, red, and white and there were heart-shaped balloons all over. A sign, also heart-shaped, read 'Now Entering Kissingtown',

Ivy looked around as they entered the town. She had never been anywhere so corny. So lovey-dovey. Her initial feelings were that she thought she might puke. She saw signs for kissing lessons and romantic restaurants and all other sorts of things along that line.

"Oh, my god." Ivy muttered.

"What a gross town." Randal said, sticking out his tongue and scrunching up his face in a disgusted look.

Ivy grinned at him.

"Yeah, coodies all over the place."

"What's a coodie?" Randal looked confused.

Ivy was a little surprised. Oh, well. She couldn't expect him to know stuff like that.

"I'll explain later. Let's get some breakfast." she said, glad that Randal's mood had improved, at least for now.

A little girl ran up in front of them and held out a hand to stop them. She held a bow and arrow and lights shimmered around her head in a halo. She had wings strapped to her back so she looked like some kind of cupid-girl.

"There you are. About time you showed up." she said.

"Huh?" Ivy asked, confused.

Randal looked as lost as she was. Did someone know they were coming?

"You will be faced with the truth again. But I'm afraid that love will have to take a backseat to evil's ploys once again. Your slightly…changed…friend will arrive later, I assure you." she said and skipped off to be lost in a crowd of unnaturally cheery people.

"She was talking about Faolan! That girl must have been psychic!" Ivy exclaimed.

Randal seemed to be pondering something.

"What is it?" Ivy asked.

"This seems all so familiar. Like I heard about it before. A story, I think. I just can't remember…" Randal growled in frustration, "I'm hungry."

"Come on." Ivy said, steering him towards a restaurant.

She stared in the direction the girl had gone and wondered what she had meant.

Faolan fell asleep curled up under a tree. His belly was full, he was happy. For now. Now he would sleep. Faolan put his tail over his nose and let out a long wolf sigh as he drifted off. He was soon fast asleep.

Faolan found himself in a white room. He scrambled to his feet and looked around. He immediately spotted the woman, but something was wrong. He couldn't smell her.

"Hello, Faolan. I wasn't planning on bringing you here, but that evil witch has pushed me to it. She should not have messed with something as powerful as the moon. Mr. Moon is furious." the woman said.

Faolan was astounded. So astounded that it wasn't until now that he realized he wasn't in wolf-form anymore and that he was on hands and knees before the great Queen Snow White! Faolan quickly stood and bowed.

"Queen Snow White! I…" Faolan was at a loss for words.

Snow White smiled, amused.

"Relax. I have some things I need to discuss with you." she said.

Faolan was still trying to catch up to what was happening. His memory was already pretty fuzzed. He thought he remembered being in the woods, collecting sticks with Ivy, but he wasn't sure.

"Mr. Moon? You mean the Man in the Moon? He's still alive?" Faolan blurted.

Snow White nodded.

"Of course. As long as the moon lives so does he. And he is not happy about this unscheduled full moon. Technically I can't interfere directly with this, but I can grant you a wish…" Snow White said.

Faolan nodded quickly, getting her gist.

"Right. I wish that the full moon was over and the regular moon schedule was back on track." Faolan said immediately, then regretted it.

He could have wished for no full moons at all. He could have put an end to his monthly madness. He frowned and a whine escaped him. He looked to Snow White. She seemed pleased, but understanding.

"Thank you. That had to be tempting. Before you leave I have to tell you some things. First, you will find your brother and Ivy in Kissingtown, but beware. The witch is plotting something. I don't know what, but I know it involves Ivy and Danielle. Ivy is going to need you to support and protect her, no matter what she thinks or says. I'm counting on you to do as much." she paused for Faolan to nod, "Second, talk to Wolf and Virginia. Yes, you must speak with them, but I think this evil witch business must come first. Alright?"

Faolan nodded again.

"Oh, and give this to Wolf. Tell him that it should put his problems with that bratty grandchild of Red's to an end." Snow White said, handing him an envelope.

Faolan bowed again as he took it.

"All that you say, Queen Snow Whi…" he began as regally as he could.

"Oh, call me Snow." Snow White interrupted, "Now, it's about time you go. Remember what I said."

Snow White and the white room all faded away until everything was black.

Faolan snapped awake. He was human again. Well, as human as he ever was. And he had an envelope in his hand with a royal seal on it. The seal had a fancy _S.W._ stamped into it.

Cinnamon woke up with a jerk. Her hands flew up in a front of her face. They _were_ hands, not paws! She wasn't a wolf!

Cinnamon always suffered a little identity crisis after the full moon. And now she had added anxieties. Had she eaten one of her friends? What _had_ she done? Where was she? In her woods there wasn't really too many bad things she could do. And she knew every inch of that territory so she was never very lost. Maybe a little disoriented, but never lost.

Cinnamon got up and sniffed, looking for the now familiar scents of her friends. Or, at least, so-called friends. Cinnamon didn't have real friends, didn't deserve them. Cinnamon shook her head, dispelling those thoughts and the memories they brought up.

There! She smelled Tony! If she sniffed some more she could smell Maive. And two other scents. One familiar, the other vaguely…it was one of the girls! Yes, she vaguely remembered Wendell saying something about finding the girl named Danielle. And there had been something about Wendell, too, but she couldn't remember what. Oh, well. She would find out when she rejoined them.

Had all three nights of the full moon passed already? That thought stopped Cinnamon. The full moon had been early! And she was pretty sure it had only been one night although her memory of it wasn't great,

More questions for her companions to hopefully have answers to. Cinnamon trotted off quickly to find them.

Virginia would not admit to crying, but she was way over-stressed and pregnant. She had a very good excuse. Not that she needed it.

Breena was still buzzing around nervously. She seemed pretty re-energized. There was the snap of footsteps approaching and Virginia tried to jump to her feet. It was getting harder to do.

Wolf stumbled into the clearing and Virginia gave a wordless shout of relief. She hurried over to him and hugged him fiercely. He returned her hug, but not as strongly as he usually did. Virginia pulled back and looked at him worriedly.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I was so worried. I couldn't remember what happened, but I remembered your smell and…" Wolf said and Virginia knew by his voice how tortured he had been.

"No, Wolf! You saved me! Another wolf was going to attack me and you scared it off." Virginia explained.

There were tears of relief welling up in Wolf's eyes and Virginia quickly wiped them away. She cradled his face in her hands.

"I know you would never let anything happen to me, Wolf. I love you." she said.

Wolf raised his own hand to touch her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too, my dreamy creamy Virginia." he said, "But how long has it been? It doesn't feel like more than one night has passed, but my cycle's over."

"It _has_ been only one night." Virginia said, confused.

"Maybe the witch could only change the moon for one night?" Breena suggested.

"Maybe." Wolf nodded.

He took a step back and looked around as he turned everything over in his mind. His gaze finally settled back on Virginia.

"Boy, our little cub has grown!" he exclaimed and Virginia smiled to see Wolf back to his old self.

Wolf placed a hand on Virginia's stomach and both their eyes went wide when the baby kicked.

"Cripes." Wolf said quietly.

"Cripes is right." Virginia nodded, all her questions and doubts rushing back to her, "Why am I so pregnant already? I feel as big as a house! I look like I'm seven months along now!"

"You are not as big as a house, Virginia. Maybe a small cow. Joking!" Wolf cried as she punched him in the arm, "You look beautiful. Absolutely succulent."

"Thank you." Virginia said shortly, but with a smile. She turned serious again, though, "I mean it, Wolf. Why am I so big already?"

"Maybe because wolves have their cubs quicker than humans." Wolf shrugged.

Virginia's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe? What do you mean maybe?" she demanded.

"Good to see she's controlling those mood swings." Breena whispered to Wolf as she buzzed by.

"I heard that! And I don't have mood swings." Virginia said, but the next moment she was crying, "I'm just so worried. What if I'm as bad a mother as mine was? How do I raise a baby with a tail? Will I have to lock up my baby every full moon?"

Wolf quickly jumped over to hold her. He stroked her hair.

"Shhh. It's okay. You'll be the best mother ever. Don't worry. I'll be right there to help you raise our baby with a tail. And you know what?"

"What?" Virginia asked, sniffling.  
"He's going to be the most drop-dead gorgeous boy with you for a mother. And me for a father, of course." Wolf said with his wolfish grin.

Virginia laughed and smiled again.

"Maybe he'll be even cuter than you. Ever thought of that?" she asked.

"Uh oh!" Wolf said in mock-worry, "Competition!"

Breena coughed loudly to get their attention.

"Um…there's still the matter of an evil witch bent on destroying us all." she reminded them.

Wolf growled and his eyes flashed at the mention of the witch.

"Huff-puff, that's right! Time to be heroes again!"

Marissa spent extensive time at the mirrors, doing her best to find out what the major weaknesses of each girl was. It was harder to do by mirror, but not impossible. She already knew one of the blonde's worst fears. That would be her entrance to the core of her doubts and the rest of her fears. Then to the brunette.

"Why must it be Kissingtown?" she asked in disgust as she watched the girl and the young wolf-cub (how interesting to see that more than she had thought had fallen because of her full moon plan) ate at a sickeningly love oriented restaurant.

Her thoughts trailed back to the full moon. Somehow the spell had been broken and she had been cut off from the moon. Someone powerful had done that. And the only one who came immediately to mind was Snow White.

Nevermind all that. Her ploy had given her time and openings. That was all she needed.

Ivy had to admit that despite the incredibly corny titles labeled on all the food, it was still good. She had the First Crush Casserole and it was excellent.

The waiter was awfully nice. Ivy was suspicious of such niceness, but didn't pass up a chance for information.

"What is this town, anyway?" Ivy asked.

"This is where the dwarves brought Snow White and placed her in the glass coffin when they believed she was dead. And where the Prince found her and revived her. The magic of that moment is what makes Kissingtown what it is; the most romantic spot in all the 9 Kingdoms." the waiter said and Ivy could tell it was a rehearsed speech.

"The short version?" she asked.

"It's a magical love town. Everyone falls in love here." he said with a small smile, "Well, almost everyone."

"I remember now!" Randal exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Ivy asked.

"The story. It was the story about the 'Four who saved the 9 Kingdoms'! They came here!" Randal said, excitedly.

"Yes, yes, they did!" the waiter agreed, "In fact, we have a V and W Tour running through town. That stands for Virginia and Wolf. It's a hot commodity lately."

"Okay, that's it. I have to hear what happened to Virginia and Wolf." Ivy said.

The waiter's eyes went wide.

"You haven't heard? How could you not hear the tale?"

"Uh…well…" Ivy stammered, uncertain of what she should tell him.

Luckily, he saved her the trouble.

"You'll have to visit the Storyteller then. He's been telling the tale a million times over already. You'll find him at the end of the street…"

Tony had taken the last watch. And unfortunately Wendell had remembered to wake him up for it. Stupid Wendell and his stupid standing watch idea. Tony yawned again and grumbled.

"You'd think they'd have a little pity for an old man. I should be kicking back in a recliner and relaxing, not hiding out from an evil witch, watching for a crazed wolf." he said.

Tony blinked in surprise when he turned and saw the sun was coming up. He stretched his aching muscles and got up.

"Wake up, people!" he said loudly.

Maive stirred and sat up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Wendell curled up in a tighter ball and ignored him. Danielle didn't even move that much.

Tony frowned. Great. He would have to wake up two people who were both set on doing the exact opposite.

"Wendy, you're a frog again!" he cried.

Wendell jerked awake, his eyes wide with terror. When he discovered that he was still human, he fixed his worst glare on Tony.

"Now for the last one." Tony said, ignoring Wendell, "Danielle,…uh…vampire!"

Danielle waved an arm around as if looking for someone standing nearby. She dropped her arm and curled up again.

"Liar." she muttered.

"Oh, wake up!" Tony said impatiently, fed up with her already.

"Not morning yet. Too early." Danielle said without opening her eyes.

Tony thought he might strangle her. He was _not_ a morning person and Danielle wasn't helping. Wendell apparently saw what was going on and intercepted him.

"I'll take care of it, Anthony." he said quickly.

Tony crossed his arms and grunted. He watched as Wendell went over to Danielle and knelt next to her. He whispered something to her and she jerked up into a sitting position.

"You can do that?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Wendell shrugged.

"I'll have to pull some strings. But I am a king, after all." he said, "But first you have to wake up and we have to get all this horrible business over with."

Danielle nodded and quickly got to her feet. She walked over to talk to Maive.

Tony stared at Wendell.

"How did you do that? What did you say?" Tony demanded.

Wendell had that smug looked on his face.

"I told her I would make her a real princess in thanks for making me human." he said.

Tony's mouth dropped open. Wendell grinned and started past him, but Tony ran in front of him and made him stop.

"I helped make you human once, too!" he protested.

"Would you like to be made a princess, too, Anthony?" he asked in reply.

"No! But…but…" Tony stuttered.

Wendell's grin widened.

"Don't worry, Anthony. I could never forget the only manservant to turn me into gold."

"You know, for a king you're a real smart…" Tony began.

"Would you boys knock it off! I had another vision!" Maive called.

Tony and Wendell exchanged a look, then hurried over to Maive. Danielle was already at her side looking very curious.

"What was it?" Tony asked.

"I saw Marissa. She was in Kissingtown. And she was talking to Ivy." Maive said.

"Ivy?" Danielle asked, "Woah, wait a minute. Ivy wouldn't _talk_ to that evil witch. Fight, yes. Foolishly insult, most definitely. But just talk? I don't think so. Are you sure?"

Maive nodded.

"Very sure. I think Ivy was falling under Marissa's spell." Maive said, "She has the power to turn your worst fears on you. Isn't that what she did to you, Tony?

"Yeah. It was like she could read my fears and doubts like an open book." Tony shuddered just thinking about it.

"Was this happening now or in the future? What do we do?" Wendell asked.

Maive paused and considered.

"I think it was the future. But I…" Maive broke off.

She clapped her hands to her head and gave a small moan. She was having another vision. When she recovered, she looked up to see the three of them staring at her expectantly.

"It was Snow White again." she said quietly.

"My grandmother!" Wendell exclaimed.

Maive held up a hand to silence him so she could continue.

"Yes. She told me that there isn't anything we can do about Ivy, but that we should take care to guard Danielle. The witch is going to be coming for you next." Maive told Danielle.

"Then, we have to prepare for her! You have to teach me to fight her. You may not be a Prue, Piper, or a Phoebe, but you're still a good witch. Tell me what to do." Danielle insisted.

Maive shook her head. She couldn't help her. Maive wasn't that good herself. She was only an apprentice. Danielle was probably a better witch than she was. She would have to fight Marissa on her own.


	15. Chapter 15

-1Faolan followed his nose and was astounded when it led him into Kissingtown. Snow White had been right.

He had never been to Kissingtown before, but of course he had heard all about it. And it was everything it was said to be. He passed half a dozen people laughing and kissing just on his way in. Happy couples. There was romantic music playing from an unknown source. He could smell the love in the air. And he could smell his brother and Ivy. He turned onto the main street and soon found the two of them. They were sitting underneath a long lean-to, listening with rapt attention to an old man telling a story. Neither of them noticed him. He was downwind, but still. It must be a good story. He edged around the back and sat down behind Ivy. He realized why they were so spellbound. They were listening to the tale of Virginia and Wolf, Tony and King Wendell. It was a mesmerizing story. And it was coming to an end.

"…And so King Wendell granted a royal pardon for all wolves across the kingdoms with the regal words that it was a noble wolf who once saved the 9 Kingdoms. He bestowed a medal of honor upon Tony Lewis, naming him Anthony the Valiant. A special award was given to the dog known as Prince, who now lives in a golden kennel. And lastly, to the fair Virginia he gave a rose, given to him by the wondrous Snow White herself. And an addition to the tale, we have received word that Wolf and Virginia were wed over two months ago!" there were claps and cheers by all around. The storyteller nodded and smiled, "Happily Ever After, my friends? Maybe so."

The storyteller nodded again to let them know he had finished. People began leaving, dropping coins in the old man's hat as they left. Faolan leaned forward and put his head on Ivy's shoulder.

"Good story, huh?" he asked and smiled when she jumped and gave a surprised yelp.

"Faolan!" she cried, turning to face him, "The girl was right! You _are_ here!"

Faolan scratched his head, puzzled.

"Girl?" he asked.

"Yeah, this girl came up to us and said you would be here soon." Randal filled him in quickly.

As soon as he had done so, Randal jumped up and gave his brother a hug. Faolan pushed him away gently, seeming embarrassed.

"Are you…?" Ivy paused uncertainly.

Faolan seemed better, but the full moon lasted three nights, not just one.

Faolan nodded emphatically.

"Completely. Back to normal. It's a long story, but the moon's back on track." he said, then quickly added, "I'll tell you later."

Ivy smiled with relief. She got to her feet, followed quickly by Faolan. They exited the tent, Faolan supplying the tip to the storyteller.

"We already ate. Are you hungry?" Ivy asked as they walked down the street.

"Actually, I'm kind of full." Faolan said.

Before Ivy could get suspicious about that, he steered her toward a parked carriage.

"Did you like that story?" he asked.

Ivy's eyes brightened and she nodded.

"Oh, yes!" she agreed.

"You want to see something from the story?" he asked, stopping next to the carriage.

"Sure." Ivy shrugged.

"Uh…what about me?" Randal asked, waving his arms to get attention.

"I gave you some coins. Go explore." Faolan said quickly, pushing Randal along.

"But I had to use most of it to pay for breakfast! Faolan! Oh, huff-puff! Fine!" Randal said, stomping off.

Ivy looked after him.

"You sure he'll be alright?" she asked.

"He'll be fine. Come on." Faolan said, opening the carriage door.

Faolan held out a hand to her, hoping to help her inside. But Ivy ducked under his arm and walked around to the horses. She didn't even seem to notice that she had blown him off. She held out a hand to each of the horses to sniff and stroked them on the noses. She looked up and saw the driver.

"Oh, hello. You have a beautiful team." she said.

"Not compared to you, miss." the driver replied, leaning forwards on his bench and smiling at her.

Faolan growled at him and he quickly leaned back again. Again, Ivy didn't seem to notice.

"You…uh…know horses, miss?" the driver asked, stiffly polite.

"Well enough." Ivy said with a smile as she scratched the horses' ears.

Faolan took her arm and pulled her back towards the door.

"Better get going." he said over her half-formed protests, "Driver, Snow White Hill."

Faolan opened the door again and before he could even offer to help, Ivy had climbed in. Then, she turned around and held out a hand to him! Faolan shook his head and got in on his own. The driver clucked and snapped the reins and the horses moved out.

Ivy stared out the side window in amazement until Faolan finally got impatient with her paying attention to everything but him and pulled her back into her seat.

"I'm trying to tell you something." he said.

Ivy blinked at him in such an innocent manner that any annoyance or impatience he had disappeared. He scooted a little closer to her.

"This is where Wolf and Virginia went when they were looking for the traveling mirror. You know that this is where the Prince met Snow White, right? Well, her glass coffin was placed on top of the hill that we're going to." Faolan explained.

Ivy didn't respond for a long moment and Faolan nudged her shoulder.

"Ivy?" he asked.

"I just…I still can't believe it's all real." she said.

She turned to look at Faolan with wide eyes and he smiled.

"As real as I am." he assured her.

Doubt flashed across her face.

"Maybe you're not real. Maybe I finally went totally, completely nuts. Maybe this is all just a dream. Maybe…" Ivy began, her voice getting panicked at the idea that all this wasn't real.

Faolan put his fingers to her lips to stop her.

"It's real. I promise." he said.

Ivy pulled his hand away.

"But how do I know? Haven't you ever had a dream you were sure was real?" she asked.

"Tell me this, do you dream of half-wolves in a land you didn't know existed often?" he asked with a grin.

Ivy had to allow herself a small smile at that.

"No. I do now. But seriously…" she persisted.

Faolan sighed.

"If I do something to prove to you how real this is, will you promise not to get mad or anything?" he asked.

"Uh…okay, I guess." Ivy said uncertainly.

"Okay." Faolan repeated.

Before she could change her mind, Faolan leaned over and kissed her. He had been thinking about doing so for some time, but he had never known how he should ask or how to start. It was everything he had imagined. He wondered what she was thinking. He wondered if it had been the same for Wolf when he had first kissed Virginia. Hadn't that been in Kissingtown, too? Faolan pulled away slowly and opened his eyes. Ivy's eyes were still closed, her lips parted. Faolan nuzzled her cheek to get her to open her eyes and look at him.

"You believe me now?" he asked.

Ivy nodded. Faolan slowly smiled.

"That was…well, that was better than three little pigs." he said.

Ivy couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Marissa saw every moment of their little carriage ride and realized that she had to act fast. She could not let the girl fall in love. Love was one thing she couldn't control. So Marissa had to pay Ivy a little visit. And just to be absolutely sure, she would have to remain invisible.

"No matter." Marissa said to herself, "She's given you enough openings to destroy her. She doesn't have a prayer. Not even Snow White could cover all those insecurities. Not even Snow White."

"Please, Maive." Danielle pleaded.

"You don't understand. I can't. One, I'm not a teacher. I'm only an apprentice. And not a very good one. Second, you're not a witch. It's too dangerous for you to be taught any spells or anything without going through training and initiation and cart-loads of other things. Besides you fought her before and did alright." Maive tried to explain.

Why couldn't she understand that she just couldn't teach her any magic?

Tony's face twitched at Maive's last words.

"Alright? Alright?! They got scattered across the Kingdoms!" he yelled at her.

"But they survived. And they're still under their own wills. More than you could say for your encounter." Maive replied.

"You know what…just…oh, shut up." Tony snapped.

"You're…" Maive began, heatedly, "Ow!"

Maive pressed her hands against her head again. _Another_ vision. But this one was very short. A moment later, she looked around and locked her eyes on Danielle.

"Snow White says that you have to do this on your own and to believe in yourself." she said.

Danielle didn't look too reassured.

The carriage stopped just then and Faolan jumped out. Before Ivy could protest, he put his hands on her waist and swung her out of the carriage. Finally, everything was going the way he wanted.

"Come on." he said, leading her towards the main attraction.

Ivy almost couldn't believe it. A giant arch with a red heart in the center that said Snow White on it read "True Love Never Dies". People with carts advertised corny trinkets. An artist painted faces on a pre-painted background. Tourists posed for the picture with the girl lying in the coffin and the guy leaning over her. It must have been the worst tourist attraction she had ever seen, but for some reason she was okay with it. She had never felt like this before.

Faolan was looking at her. She turned to him, wondering what he wanted.

"What?" she asked.

"You want to?" he asked, nodding towards the people posing, "You know, Wolf and Virginia posed here."

Ivy rolled her eyes. She wasn't as naïve as all that not to know what he was doing even though it was still hard for her to believe he liked her. Using Wolf and Virginia as his excuse was really not the best…but what did she care?

"If you insist."

Cinnamon slowly entered the clearing, almost afraid of what she would find. She quickly spotted the group of her companions and heaved a sigh of relief. They were all there.

"Um…hi, everyone?" she said uncertainly.

The entire group spun to face her.

"Cinnamon!" Danielle cried.

"I'm fine now, so you all know. The full moon's over. But how long has it been?" Cinnamon asked.

"One night." Maive told her.

Cinnamon shook her head in confusion. None of this made sense.

"As long as it's over." Wendell said, glancing at her in a way she didn't like.

"What?" Cinnamon demanded.

Wendell just shook his head and walked off. Danielle ran after him.

"Well, let's get back to worrying and arguing and waiting, shall we?" Tony asked dryly.

Ivy couldn't believe she had let Faolan talk her into this. He was talking now, but she wasn't really listening. He was telling her the story of Snow White (as the guy before them had told the girl, she figured it was routine).

Suddenly, Ivy heard another voice. It was soft, so she had to listen closely, but not too much so. The voice was strangely compelling.

"_Why are you doing this? This isn't you! He's half-wolf, for Pete's sake! You saw how crazy he went the other night. He could have done anything when you weren't around. He said he could eat you! What __**did**__ he eat? He said he was full. You read the fairytales. You know how the wolves were in those stories. He's probably lying to you!"_ the voice said and Ivy began to doubt.

Faolan was leaning closer to her. She could feel it. Ivy sat up quickly and pushed Faolan away. He looked hurt and confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I…I have to leave." Ivy said quickly, jumping up and running off.

"_That has to be it! He can't possibly like you. No, you're delusional, Ivy. He's been lying to you the whole time. You can't trust him. You can't trust anybody, really. You know that. You knew that. You were always alone and always will be."_ the voice continued.

"No." Ivy whispered, shaking her head weakly as she ran.

"_Yes. Don't deny what you know. Stop kidding yourself. You're not good for anything, who could possibly love you. Deep down you've always known. Haven't you always feared that when you got the chance you prayed for, that you would fail terribly? That you would fail your friends? You can act brave and tough, but inside you know you're a coward."_

"Leave me alone." Ivy said, almost pleading now.

She couldn't take this. It had to be true, the voice wouldn't lie. She was crying now! She hated to cry. She hated feeling sorry for herself.

"_You are nothing, but an ungrateful, ugly, little brat! Don't try and tell yourself otherwise."_

Ivy couldn't run any further. A brook blocked her path. She had completely left Kissingtown behind without realizing it. She fell to her knees next to the water. She wiped her eyes, but couldn't stop her crying. Her throat hurt and her mouth was dry. Water would help. Ivy scooped up water in her hands and bent to drink it.

"No!" Faolan yelled, running up behind her and pulling her hands apart so the water fell, "Don't drink it! Didn't you see the sign? Or the fence?"

"What?" Ivy asked without looking up.

Her voice was cold. Faolan didn't like it.

"You ran right through the broken part of a fence. There was a sign, too. It said, 'Beware! Don't drink water'. It has to have been put here for a reason." Faolan insisted, pointing back the way she came.

"Why should I believe you?"

"What?!" Faolan asked, astonished, "Why not believe me? What's gotten into you?"

Ivy shook her head, unsure how or if she wanted to explain.

"What did you do before you got to Kissingtown?" she asked instead.

"What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?" Faolan asked.

Ivy was silent. She scooped up more water in her hands.

"Ivy, no!" Faolan said, reaching for her hands so he could dump out the water again.

Ivy pulled her hands away from him and drank the tiny drop of water still in her hands. Faolan looked horrified.

"What have you done?" he said.

Ivy was about to tell him that he was wrong, the water was perfectly fine when she felt a stab in her chest. It spread through her body like fire. She cried out in more surprise than pain. Faolan hurriedly moved closer to her and held her from behind. A shudder ran through her and her eyes flashed a wolfish color. She felt something extend from her behind. Her teeth grew to sharp points, then returned to normal. She felt her ears change shape then change back. Something inside her was definitely different, but she didn't know what.

"W…what happened?" she asked.

"Um…I don't know how to tell you this…" Faolan said slowly.

"What?"

"You…uh…well, you…" Faolan said haltingly.

"What?!"

"You have a tail." Faolan finally blurted.

Ivy jumped in surprise and reached behind her, panicked. She found something furry and bushy. She pulled it around and twisted herself so she could see. She had a silvery, gray tail!

"No!" she cried, shaking her head, "How? What? It can't be!"

"This must be one of the three brooks." Faolan said in amazement.

"What brooks?" Ivy demanded and growled without knowing it.

"Have you read the story of the Brother and Sister? They ran away from home because their stepmother was very mean and beat them everyday. But when they ran the stepmother, who was an evil witch, cursed all three brooks nearby so if they wanted to drink, they would suffer her revenge. The brother got terribly thirsty and wanted to drink, but the sister stopped him. She could hear in the trickle of the water, a warning. The first brook would turn him into a lion, the second, a wolf, and the third would turn whoever drank from it into a roebuck. The sister kept the brother from the first two, but couldn't keep him from drinking from the third. He drank his fill, then was turned into a roebuck. The sister cried for her brother and promised she'd always take care of him…" Faolan was really getting into storyteller mode and for some reason that annoyed Ivy.

"They found a house in the woods, king comes hunting in the area, stupid brother can't resist the hunt, king follows him to the house and finds the sister, king marries sister and takes her and brother back to his land, happy ever after, bla bla bla." she finished, "The point is, I have a tail!"

"Yes, this must be the brook that will turn you into a wolf. You must have only swallowed enough to become a half-wolf. Huff-puff." Faolan said and it bothered Ivy that he wasn't upset about the situation.

"You're happy about this, aren't you?!" she accused.

"No! Well, not unhappy. Maybe a little okay with it, but…" he began hurriedly.

"You are, too! I can't believe you! I knew you didn't care about me! I knew."

"Cripes! No, you're wrong!" Faolan cried.

Faolan tightened his arms around her, trying to hold her there. Ivy struggled and he let her go.

"Leave me alone." she said quietly.

"I can't. You shouldn't be alone right now." Faolan insisted.

Suddenly, they both heard shouts from back the way they had come. They didn't sound like happy shouts. And they were getting closer.

"Something's wrong." Faolan said, getting up, "Can't you smell it? Can't you smell the anger on those people?"

For some reason, it seemed important to him that she use her new wolf sense of smell. She didn't really want to, but she sniffed without realizing it and smelled what he said. Her sense of smell was crude, not as fine-tuned as Faolan's, but she could tell that it wasn't happy couples coming this way. Something inside her said she would have to run or fight and that it wouldn't be good to fight if she didn't have to. Ivy turned to run, but Faolan caught her arm and stopped her.

"No. They have Randal." he said quietly.

Randal. That made it personal. She would stay and fight if she had to.

Marissa smiled. That had gone well. She had driven a wedge in between Ivy and Faolan. She was turning against him. It wouldn't be too hard to get her to turn from most of those other nuisances. Danielle, the other girl, might be a bit of a problem. The little boy, Randal, too, might be a small obstacle. But if he became too inconvenient, she would arrange his death. It was that simple. She might not be able to kill them all just now, but one little wolf-boy wasn't a problem. And now there was the angry mob coming, just as she had planned. Soon, the girl would be hers.

Breena was starting to get worried. She should check on Danielle. Danielle had wished for her help, she was responsible for her.

"Um…Wolf, Virginia?" she asked, flying in front of them and flying backwards so she could face them.

"Yes, Breena?" Virginia asked.

"I think I should go to Danielle. She's alone and she doesn't know this land." Breena said, "I don't think I can bring us back to you. We fairies try not to zap twice. You saw what happened because of that."

"If she's with my sister, tell Fiona I'm okay and not to worry." Wolf said.

"Your sister! You said she was dead!" Virginia said.

Breena was too impatient to wait through Wolf explaining about his sister.

"I will. Farewell." she said.

Virginia and Wolf waved as she zapped, locking onto Danielle. She arrived in the middle of a group of people, one of which was Danielle. All of them jumped when she appeared.

"Breena!" Danielle cried, "Where did you go?"

"You know that fairy?" a man with a crown asked.

"Who cares? Get it out of here! Fairies are bad news! I learned that in the Swamp." an older man said, jabbing a finger at her.

"She's not a Swamp fairy. No Swamp smell." a red-haired girl who was obviously part-wolf said.

"No, she's a forest fairy and she's with me." Danielle said, holding out a hand for Breena to land on.

"I'm sorry I left you all alone, but I had to save Virginia and Wolf." Breena apologized.

"Virginia! My Virginia?!" the older man cried.

"You must be Tony, Virginia's father! Yes, but don't worry. She's fine and Wolf's with her."

"Oh, how reassuring." Tony said sarcastically.

"Breena, where are they? Does Fiona know Wolf's okay? What…?" Danielle started asking in a rush.

"They'll be here soon. No, Fiona doesn't know. And I can't tell her now." Breena said before she could ask.

"Maybe I can."

Breena hadn't noticed the girl standing off to the side. She nodded to her.

"Maive." she said in greeting.

"Breena." she returned.

"You know each other?" Danielle asked.

"I tried to grant Maive a wish, but couldn't. Not all wishes are as simple as yours was." Breena said.

Breena could tell that Danielle wanted to ask what the wish had been, but she didn't. Breena wouldn't have told her anyway. Most wishes were private. She wasn't sure how Maive felt about telling hers. She had a feeling that she had kept it a secret.

"How do you plan on telling Wolf's sister something?" she asked.

"A reverse vision. I think it's been done. I just don't know if I can do it. Maybe with help." Maive said, looking at Danielle and Breena.

"This is nuts." Tony complained.

"I say, let's do it!" Danielle nodded.

"I'll help if I can." Breena promised.

"Alright, come help me over here. I really hope this works. On the spot spells aren't really my thing…" Maive said.

"We know." everyone said at once.

Ivy waited for the people. She didn't have to wait long. An angry mob of people burst through the trees, Randal somewhere in the middle.

"See! There they are!" someone shouted.

"Wolf! Wolf!" a woman screamed.

"Murderer!" a man yelled, pointing at Faolan.

"What's going on?" Ivy asked, confused.

"That wolf killed Shelley Loveright!"

Ivy whirled on Faolan, her eyes wide. Faolan shook his head furiously. She forgot about the tail that was sticking out behind her.

"She's a wolf, too! There's three of them!"

Faolan yanked her back behind him, thinking to protect her. Ivy was too stunned to resist.

"I didn't kill anyone!" Faolan yelled back at the people, "Did Wolf kill Sally Peep? There's a royal pardon now!"

The man in front, apparently the leader of the mob, quieted the others down. He turned to Faolan and Ivy with a look of contempt on his face.

"You're not Wolf." he spat, "The royal pardon is the only thing getting you a trial and not an arrow through the heart right now. I lived in a farming village. I know what you wolves are capable of!"

There were shouts of agreement. Ivy didn't like this one bit. Some of those people were armed.

Suddenly, Randal broke free of the crowd and darted behind Faolan. Ivy breathed a sigh of relief that he was with them again and relatively safe.

"What do we do?" Ivy whispered to Faolan.

"I think we should go peacefully. Stay close to me, both of you." he whispered back.

"We? I had nothing to do with it! Randal and I were in the restaurant and then the Storyteller's!" Ivy said back.

"You're a wolf now. That doesn't matter. We'll deal with everything else later. Now, come on."

Faolan took Ivy's hand in one of his and Randal's in the other. He led them past the mob who swarmed around them, making absolutely sure that they went where they wanted them to.

Apparently, in Kissingtown the judge was the judge, jury, and prosecution. Ivy had kept them from chaining their hands, but armed men who were named guards stood at every turn. Ivy's thoughts were jerked back as the gavel was banged. The sound was too loud and very annoying. Ivy growled as it was banged again, making the "guards" closest to her shift uneasily.

"Order! Order! Thank you. Now, because of the royal pardon, these wolves will have a fair trial. Now, would the first accused approach the stand." the judge ordered.

Faolan was dragged over by two guards and shoved in the witness box.

"Where were you around dawn this morning?" the judge demanded.

"Me? Um…well, I'm not exactly sure…" Faolan squirmed.

"What were you doing?" the judge interrupted.

"Um…I know I was tracking my friends this morning into Kissingtown after I woke up!" Faolan said.

Ivy winced, this wasn't going too well for him. _She_ even had doubts about him. He had threatened her, after all. He had said he couldn't control himself on the full moon.

"What phase was the moon in last night?" the judge asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, it was full, but huff-puff…" Faolan tried to explain.

"That's all for now." the judge interrupted again.

"But…but…" Faolan stuttered as he was yanked down from the stand.

"You, she-wolf, come to the stand." the judge said, pointing at Ivy.

"My name is Ivy and I am not a she-wolf." Ivy said, shaking loose of the guards and growling as she climbed onto the stand.

That brought a burst of comments from the audience.

"Then, why do you have a tail?" the judge asked with a smirk.  
"Because I drank from that stupid brook just now, thank you very much." Ivy replied in the same tone.

Ivy heard a few gasps, but she didn't really care. The judge pressed on.

"Do you deny being friends with that wolf there?" the judge demanded, pointing at Faolan.

"I…um…I don't know." Ivy said hesitantly.

"You don't know if you're his friend?" the judge sounded incredulous and more than a little disbelieving.

"That's correct." Ivy nodded and tried not to look at Faolan.

"But you have been associating and traveling with those two, have you not?"

"Yes. Yes, I have." Ivy nodded again, unsure where this was going.

"And what were _your_ whereabouts this morning?"

"Randal and I, " Ivy said, pointing at Randal, "walked into Kissingtown at about dawn this morning and went to get breakfast. We ate at the Love-At-First-Sight restaurant, then we went to the Storyteller's place at the end of Main street. Ask the waiter if you don't believe me." Ivy added defensively.

"I will. When was the last time you saw this other wolf before entering Kissingtown?"

"Last night, before midnight." Ivy said, a sinking feeling coming over her as she realized how much that statement wasn't in Faolan's favor.

"And could you describe the happenings of that night." it wasn't a request.

Ivy didn't trust Faolan, but she didn't want him in jail or worse. She searched her mind frantically for an idea. She couldn't tell them how weird Faolan had been That would be as good as saying outright that he had killed that lady.

"I plead the fifth!" Ivy cried, infinitely glad she had been awake that day in Civics.

"The fifth what?" the judge asked, obviously confused.

Ivy couldn't believe her ears.

"The fifth amendment? The one that says I can choose not to speak…" Ivy trailed off seeing that they still had no idea what she was talking about, "Nevermind."

Ivy sighed and shot an apologetic glance at Faolan before telling them what had happened.

Faolan buried his face in his hands. He was doomed. And not only that, Ivy wasn't even sure if she wanted to be friends with him. She was a wolf now. Didn't she know now that he truly was her mate? Couldn't she feel it? He could just look at her and tell, just sniff and inhale her scent and know with absolute certainty. He needed to talk to her. He needed to find out what was wrong. And she would need his help if she was going to be a half-wolf from now on.

"We…I…didn't see Faolan again until after we had finished listening to the Storyteller telling about the 'Four Who Saved the 9 Kingdoms'." Ivy finished.

"Thank you. Could someone summon that waiter that was spoken of?" the judge asked.

"That would be me, your honor." a man said, standing up slowly.

Ivy retreated from the stand to sit next to Faolan and Randal again as the waiter walked up. Faolan didn't even pay attention as the judge questioned him.

"I'm sorry." Ivy whispered.

Faolan stiffened. She sat so close to him and yet she didn't even trust him to tell her the truth. How could that be? How could she not know that he couldn't lie to her? It hurt to know that. It hurt even more to know that she was still sorry for saying all that and practically ensuring his guilt. Faolan wanted to whine in a way he hadn't done since he was a cub.

"Faolan?" she asked.

He shook his head. He couldn't speak. No, not right now. What if he had done something horrible like kill a girl? If he had actually done that how was he to know that he wouldn't have harmed Ivy? How could he live with himself? Maybe she shouldn't trust him.

"Thank you, sir. I suppose that clears the she-wolf and the young one. But please note Exhibit A." the judge said and Faolan finally looked up.

He barely had a glimpse of a bloody clothe when a guard was grabbing his hand and pouring ink on it. His hand was forced against another white clothe and then that was set on a table next to the bloody one. Faolan looked more closely. The bloody clothe had a hand print on it. And it looked like his. In fact, it looked exactly like the print that they had just taken. Oh, cripes! He had done it! He was a murderer!

"That is a piece of Shelley, the victim's, blouse." the judge said. He waved at a man sitting nearby, "Please examine the two prints for the record."

The man took out a magnifying glass and examined the two prints very carefully. At last, he straightened and turned to the judge.

"Identical." he said.

Faolan heard a short gasp and his heart sunk even worse. Now Ivy knew it, too. She would never ever love him. He was a killer. A bad wolf. Just like everyone thought wolves were.

The mob had broken out in shouts and their harsh voices made Faolan cringe and sink lower in his chair. He saw out of the corner of his eye, Ivy jumping to her feet and looking at the prints herself. He turned to watch her and saw her shaking her head.

"No." she said, refusing to believe what she saw, "He couldn't. He wouldn't. Not Faolan."

That's what he had thought. But he had. How could he have done such a thing? How he hated the wolf in him! It had ruined everything, his whole life! Oh, if only he could rip that part of him right out!

"I find that wolf guilty of murder, proven beyond a doubt." the judge said and glared at Ivy until she sat back down.

Ivy looked down at her hands, silently.

"Normally, according to the law of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, I would sentence this wolf to death for this horrible crime. But in light of the royal pardon, " the judge said that last with such distaste Faolan could almost feel it, "I think we will have to settle for life imprisonment and hard labor at Snow White Memorial Prison."

The judge banged his gavel with finality and the crowd burst out in comments again. They seemed disappointed. Ivy had jumped to her feet again, but she looked lost. Randal looked like he might burst into tears at any moment and he was whimpering loudly. Faolan had been almost resigned to his fate up until now. They couldn't do that to him! Life imprisonment! Did they know what that was like for a wolf? Cooped up in a cage like some kind of song bird, never to bound again. He got to his feet quickly.

"No! You can't do that! You don't understand!" he cried.

"Shut up, murderer!" someone snarled from close to him and cuffed him from behind.

Faolan dropped back into his seat, his head ringing from the blow. This couldn't be the same Kissingtown he had walked into this morning. Two guards grabbed him and started dragging him towards a door. Away from Randal and Ivy. Faolan struggled, but the best he could manage was to be able to catch sight of Randal running to Ivy and latching onto her so hard that she stumbled. Randal buried his face against her and Faolan could hear him crying. Ivy was still, almost as if she couldn't get her body to work. She seemed to be focused inward.

"_He did it. He __**murdered**__ a girl. You can't deny it, you saw the proof. It could have been you."_ the voice whispered to her.

Ivy couldn't move.


	16. Chapter 16

-1Marissa's scheme had worked to perfection. She had taken a chance on the prints, but it had been worth it. It hadn't been too hard working the spell to copy Faolan's hand-print, but she had been afraid that he would be able to sense it, being a wolf and all. Luckily, he had been asleep.

Killing the girl had been simpler than she could have hoped. The girl, Shelley Loveright or some ridiculous thing like that, had wandered off on her own, putting herself out of hearing range of the town and in the perfect spot for Marissa to intercept her.

And now Ivy was slipping further under her spell. With that wolf out of the picture, it would be much, much easier.

Plus, wars were erupting across the other kingdoms. The borders of the 4th Kingdom were still being held, but they couldn't last forever. In fact, they couldn't last long.

Danielle and Maive joined hands and Breena hovered between them on the other side. Maive had her eyes tightly closed, concentrating hard. Without opening her eyes, she spoke.

"Danielle, I need you to concentrate on Wolf's sister. You knew her better than either of us, I think." she said.

"Okay." Danielle nodded, although Maive couldn't see that.

Danielle pictured Fiona, talking to Wolf. She couldn't imagine how she must have felt. Her brother, who she had just discovered was alive, might be dead for all she knew. She must be going crazy.

Danielle felt a strong pull suddenly, as if something was being yanked out of her. It didn't last long, but it was a little draining. Maive dropped her hand and Danielle opened her eyes.

"Did it work?" Wendell asked softly.

Maive nodded. She looked like she might faint.

"Yes. Yes, I think so." she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Great. What now?" Tony asked.

The guards didn't want to let her pass, but Ivy was having none of it. She felt herself begin to growl and let it grow louder, hoping to intimidate them. They did look nervous. Ivy shoved past them before they could gather themselves together. Randal was close behind her.

The tiny, two room jailhouse looked like it hadn't been used in forever. It reminded Ivy of one of the jailhouses on old T.V. shows. Although, it did have a unique Kissingtown touch to it. The walls even had red hearts pinned on them. Faolan sat in one of the cells. He had his arms propped up on his knees and his face buried in his hands. His posture was slouched, he looked dejected. Ivy was torn inside between wanting to go to him and wanting to keep her distance.

"Faolan, are you okay?" she managed to ask.

Faolan's head snapped up and he sniffed deeply. He sighed, as if relieved by their scents.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"That's a stupid question. What are we going to do?" Randal asked, going to the cell and wrapping his hands around the bars.

Faolan didn't even look at them.

"Nothing, Randal. I want you to stay with Ivy, at least until you're out of Kissingtown." Faolan said.

Randal shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes again. Ivy knew that he had been grasping at one last hope that his big brother would have a plan, some way to make it all better again. Now he had nothing to grasp at.

"I can't leave you, Faolan." he said, whimpering.

"Yes, you can." Faolan insisted.

"No." Randal said, crying freely now.

Ivy was suddenly struck with the fact that Randal was being torn from the last shred of his family. It wasn't fair. He was just a little boy. But neither Ivy nor Faolan knew how to comfort him this time. Ivy didn't even know how to comfort herself.

"Um…Randal? Could you wait outside, please?" she asked.

Randal looked at her, stunned. He slowly backed out the door.

"What? What is it?" Faolan asked, looking at her finally.

He got up, coming to the front of his cell. His face was creased with worry, as if he was afraid that something else had gone wrong.

"I can't believe you would do something like this!" Ivy shouted at him, almost amazed at what came out of her mouth.

She didn't know why she was yelling. She couldn't seem to lower her voice. She was suddenly mad at Faolan, as if it were his fault that she felt this way, that Randal was being deprived like he was. But then, it was his fault. He had done the crime. Faolan cringed as if she had physically hurt him. He looked so sad, but Ivy couldn't bring herself to pity him, not yet.

"It was the full moon, Ivy…" he said quietly.

"I don't care! Are you saying that you would have killed me?"

"No! No, I couldn't! Well, apparently I could, but I wouldn't. Never!" Faolan said in a rush.

"But you _would_ kill that girl?"

"Well, I _did_. Oh, cripes. You don't know yet. You don't understand the full moon. I can't even remember most of last night. I could have done anything." Faolan tried to explain, but he saw it wasn't helping, "Why would you say that you're not sure you're my friend?"

"Because, " Ivy said loudly, then suddenly wasn't able to yell anymore, "Because you've been lying to me, Faolan, and I don't think I can trust you."

"When did I lie? How could you not trust me? Huff-puff, I lo…" Faolan started.

"No! Don't you dare say that word! That's the worst lie. No one could…" Ivy trailed off, unwilling to say the word herself, "Besides, you're…we're…only teenagers. How could we…I mean, you…know?"

"Because I know. Look, Snow White told me I needed to help you, but it looks like I'm not going to be able to. So I want you to get out of here and away from that witch. Go home. Go back to the 10th Kingdom." Faolan said.

"Snow White?" Ivy asked in surprise, "You saw her, too?"

Faolan nodded. Ivy rubbed her temple, trying to get rid of her growing headache. This was too much.

"I can't go home. I won't. Not yet. I won't run away from that witch." Ivy said finally.

Faolan sighed and shook his head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope.

"Give this to Wolf for me. It's from Snow White. She said that it should help with his problem with Queen Riding Hood and that he should give it to her." Faolan said, handing it to her through the bars, "I probably won't ever see you again. I'll die in that prison. But I want you to make sure you keep safe. I don't want you to get hurt. Keep Randal out of trouble for me."

"Faolan…" Ivy tried to say something, but choked and nothing else would come out.

"_Stop feeling sorry for him. He's a killer."_ the voice commanded.

Ivy closed her eyes. The voice again. She took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. Faolan was reaching out a hand through the bars to touch her cheek.

"_Killer. Murderer. Liar."_ the voice said urgently.

Ivy jerked back before Faolan could touch her and turned towards the door so she wouldn't have to look at him. It hurt doing that, but she knew it would hurt her worse if she let him touch her.

"God, why couldn't you have just killed _me_?" she said.

Faolan whimpered as if the thought pained him.

"Stop that! You did a bad thing, Faolan. You're just going to have to pay for it. This is partially my fault. I should have known never to trust you. I'm sorry. I'll…I'll find some place for Randal. A good place. Goodbye, Faolan." she said and hurried for the door, not daring to look back.

A thought struck her and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh, my god!"

"Something wrong?" one of the guards asked her.

"Oh, my god." she repeated, ignoring the guard.

She whirled around and saw Faolan with his hands wrapped tightly around the bars and…tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill down his face.

"Oh, my god." she said again, "Don't you dare cry or I'll hate myself. Faolan, don't you see? Wolf and Virginia, you and me. The story's repeating. Okay, maybe it's a little different, but it's…just…oh, my god."

"Cripes!" Faolan cried, realizing she was right, "Cripes!"

"Faolan, did Snow White say anything else?" Ivy asked quietly so the guards wouldn't hear.

"Um…she said that the Man in the Moon was upset about the full moon and…that we were supposed to talk to Wolf and Virginia?" Faolan said, unsure if the meant anything or not.

Ivy paused, something slowly dawning on her. She looked up at Faolan.

"But if the story is really repeating…, " she said slowly, "Wolf was framed for the murder of Sally Peep."

Faolan brightened as he caught her meaning. Could it be true? Could he be innocent?

"Cripes!"

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Not after how well things had been going. Marissa needed to get Ivy away from the pesky wolf. She moved back next to the guards.

"_Better get her away from him."_ she whispered in their ears, "_Probably planning a breakout, they are. Don't forget, she's a wolf, too. Get her out of there!"_

The two guards exchanged a look, then headed inside. Marissa smiled. Men were so simple-minded, it was always easy to control them.

"Visiting time's over." one guard announced.

"Yeah." the other agreed gruffly.

"But…" Ivy protested.

Before she could say anything further, the guards drabbed her arms and nearly dragged her out. They shut the door firmly behind them and took up their posts in front of it. Ivy stumbled forward when they let her go and looked like she might fall on her face, but apparently the tail balanced her. She straightened and looked around. Marissa followed her gaze to the wolf-cub who was sitting on the ground nearby, crying. Ivy went over to him and helped him to his feet. The two started off when a howl came from inside the jailhouse. The young cub howled back sadly and, after a moment's hesitation, Ivy joined in. Marissa clamped her hands over her ears. What a disgusting noise.

Virginia's mood swings were getting worse. One minute she would be fine and the next she would be crying. Wolf would try to comfort her and she would turn around and yell at him. Wolf was starting to really wish they were back at Wendell's Castle or somewhere where there were people who could help her. She really was getting quite big. His wolf senses told him that the cub was growing very quickly and that this was very hard on Virginia. She was human, after all. Human babies developed very slowly, didn't they? Virginia needed someone who could tell her exactly what was happening to her and that someone wasn't him. He was no midwife! His sister would be such a relief right now. She could probably help.

"Stop moping!" Virginia snapped, causing him to wince and whine softly.

She must have heard him because her face softened and she held out her hands to him.

"I'm so sorry, Wolf. I don't know what's gotten into me. Breena must have been right, I _am_ having mood swings." Virginia realized.

"It's okay, my delectable, little…" Wolf cut off as he sniffed.

"What? What is it? Trouble?" Virginia asked.

"No." Wolf shook his head, "I smell…Tony! And…and Wendell and Cinnamon and Danielle and Maive and Breena! Human Wendell, too!"

Wolf almost started running towards their friends, but checked himself. Virginia couldn't run in her condition. He took her hand and led her in the right direction.

"Come on, love of my life. Let's go. It'll be a reunion!" Wolf said excitedly.

Virginia, too, hurried her step. She was as anxious as Wolf to be back with her friends and family.

As if she hadn't been paranoid enough after following the X-Files since Season One on top of her already crazed mind, this whole thing about being next on the witch's hit list was driving her nuts. Well, she _was_ nuts so she wasn't really going on a long drive. Just a little skip across the border into insane mixed with paranoia. Not a good mix.

Danielle pulled her knees up to her chest and glanced around nervously. Tony, Cinnamon, and Maive had gone to look for food. Breena had gone to scout around and see if Virginia and Wolf were close by. Wendell was sitting on a hill a ways away, staring in the direction of his castle with longing and stroking his crown as if it were a living thing. She was essentially alone.

The wind was starting to blow and Danielle was beginning to hear her name on the wind. The way it happens when you're alone and your mind starts playing tricks on you. It wasn't helping Danielle's mood any. She had to do something to get her mind off it. Anything to distract herself. So she sang to herself.

"What is that horrible noise?"

Danielle's head shot up and in the direction of Wendell's voice. In the process, she jerked her neck. She placed one hand on the back of her neck.

"Ow! Thanks a lot, Wendell. And it's not a horrible noise. It's called singing. Yodeling Blues, to be precise." Danielle shouted back.

Wendell stood up and walked down the hill towards her. She waited for him.

"The Yodeling what?" he asked as he sat next to her.

Danielle sighed and dropped her hand from her neck.

"It's a song. Forget it."

Danielle was not an incredibly patient person and she couldn't take this waiting. She turned to Wendell quickly.

"Couldn't we just sneak back into the castle and have another go and fighting that witch? I'm sick of just sitting around. What are we waiting for?" she demanded.

Wendell nodded with understanding.

"Believe me, I would give anything to be back on my throne. Anything could be happening across the Kingdoms that I don't know about. The 4th Kingdom needs a king and as much as I sometimes tire of all the royal duties and hearings and such, it's my place. It's what I have been groomed to do my whole life." Wendell said and he couldn't help, but glance towards his castle again.

"You know, my…um…alter-ego in those stories I told you about, Princess Aaliyah, she was trained to be a princess her whole life, but she wasn't really the princess-type and ended up being a warrior and a queen when she does drop by at her castle." Danielle said, unsure why she was blabbing all that to Wendell.

"Aaliyah, huh?" Wendell asked.

Danielle nodded.

"Um…Wendell? I…well…I had a dream where I met your grandmother, Snow White. It was weird 'cause I felt like I was in other people's minds for a few seconds. One was Ivy's, I know that. I think the other might have been Virginia's. The last one…well, let me put it this way: ribbit."

Wendell looked startled. He spluttered in a very unking-like fashion for a moment. Danielle smiled uneasily.

"Sorry, Kermit."

"I'm not going." Randal said stubbornly, latching onto a tree, "You can't make me."

Ivy sighed. She was in no mood to deal with this. She understood that Randal didn't want to leave his brother. She didn't want to leave him either in light of her recent revelation. There was so much she needed to talk about with him. But now wasn't the time, she could feel that. They needed time most of all, which they didn't have. She had to remember, she still had to find Danielle and fight that witch.

"Please, Randal." Ivy said, "I'll think of something, just give me some time. But we have to get away from Kissingtown. At least, for now."

"Will we come back for Faolan?" Randal demanded.

Ivy paused, knowing that was the last thing they should do. She was just going on a feeling she had, she didn't know at all if Faolan was innocent. They could get caught and thrown in jail, too. How was she going to deal with being locked up in prison in a fairytale land? But she was a wolf now, too. Didn't wolves always trust their instincts? And she had to think of Randal, as well.

"Yes." she said, throwing everything else to the wind, "We'll come back."

It was getting even darker in the jailhouse so Faolan knew that night was again falling. Already he was feeling claustrophobic, closed up in the cell. Wolf was right, wolves shouldn't be locked up with no room to bound.

"I'm guessing that I'm not getting dinner." Faolan called to his jailers.

"You guessed right, murdering wolf." one of them snapped.

Faolan nodded. He should get used to this. From what he had heard, the only meals at Snow White Memorial Prison were beanstalk soup oriented. What a fate, locked up and fed beanstalk for the rest of his life. Just about a fate worse than death for a wolf. Especially if you had to leave your mate behind. Faolan felt like howling again, but the last time he had done so, the guards had thrown things at him and said that if he did it again they would make sure he couldn't howl a third time.

"Can I at least use a bathroom?" he asked.

He could tell that he was annoying his jailers, but he didn't particularly care. They said something to each other, then rose from their seats with a sigh. One took out a pair of keys and unlocked the door. The other went inside and jerked Faolan out. Faolan was hauled outside and thrown into a small, run-down, probably forgotten by all the other inhabitants of Kissingtown, outhouse.

"Huff-puff, thanks, guys." Faolan said sarcastically as they slammed the door behind him.

"Two minutes." one of them said.

Faolan grumbled under his breath, but he knew this was probably better than it would be at Snow White Memorial.

Suddenly, Faolan's head snapped up and he cocked his head to one side. Yes, it was Randal! He could hear Randal howling from some distance away. The howl said that help was coming. Faolan was about to reply to the howl when there was an impatient knock at the door. A moment later, Faolan was yanked back outside and dragged back towards the jailhouse. Faolan _had_ to stop Randal from coming here, no matter what the jailers did. He couldn't have his little brother getting caught and thrown in jail, too. So, Faolan howled back. A "stay away" howl. He could vaguely hear Randal's reply. A repeat of the "help coming" howl, this time with a stubborn edge to it. Faolan shook his head and started to howl back, but was cut off by a punch to his stomach.

"I said shut up, wolf." the jailer snarled.

"But…" Faolan protested.

Faolan was punched again. He coughed painfully.

"How stupid are you?"

The other jailer laughed gruffly. Faolan was struck at how out of place they seemed in Kissingtown. His random musing was cut off as he was thrown back in his cell. He stumbled a step or two before regaining his balance. His stomach hurt where he had been punched, he felt a bruise forming already. But he didn't care. That wasn't important right now.

Faolan sprang to the barred window he had to the outdoors. He looked out, searching, sniffing, listening for his brother or Ivy. He silently prayed that they would stay away. He knew that if they were found near here, they'd be in prison with him. Even though he brightened a little at the thought of not being alone, he still would rather have them free and safe. But that nagging part of him, a large part actually, wanted them to come. Wanted to see them again, even if just once.

Faolan whined to himself, wondering which part of him would win out.

"Look who I found!" Breena called, flitting around Danielle's head once so fast that she looked like a ball of light and then settling on her shoulder.

A moment later, Virginia and Wolf came into view. In spite of Breena's report that Wolf was fine, Danielle had been worried. It was amazing how close you could get to someone when you're lost in a strange land. Even so, Danielle surprised herself by bounding over and hugging Wolf. When she realized what she was doing, she jumped backwards and quickly stamped down on the blush that wanted to come over her face. Wolf smiled in amusement.

"Huff-puff, you weren't worried about me?"

Danielle shook her head.

"Nah." she said, but she had a small grin on her face.

Wolf looked around and saw Wendell.

"Wendy! Great to see you back to your old human self." he said.

Wendell beamed. Finally! His proper greeting after being turned into a dog and then a frog.

"Hello, Wolf." he nodded and shook Wolf's hand.

Wolf ignored Wendell's obvious attempt at being formal and hugged him, patting him on the back. Wendell coughed and pushed him away.

"Lighten up, Wendy." Wolf grinned.

Wendell pretended not to hear him and brushed himself off, trying to retain his regal manner. He turned to Virginia and kissed her hand.

"Virginia. Good to see you. I trust you're well?" he asked.

Danielle rolled her eyes at Wolf and motioned to Wendell. Wolf nodded and grinned. Danielle mimicked Wendell mockingly behind his back. Wolf's grin widened. Virginia saw what they were doing and tried very hard not to burst out laughing. Wendell saw her looking behind him and spun around. He eyed Danielle and Wolf suspiciously. Danielle smiled innocently and raised a questioning eyebrow. Wolf copied her.

"So." Virginia said loudly, drawing their attention to her, "Where's my dad?"

"Anthony went with Maive and Cinnamon to find some food for dinner." Wendell informed her.

"Oh, good. I'm starving." Wolf said.

Virginia smiled at that and gave a sigh of happiness, "I'm just glad we're all back together."

Danielle shook her head.

"No, not all. Ivy's still missing." she reminded them.

Wendell nodded solemnly, "Perhaps we should ask Maive to scry for her. If my grandmother thinks we should all be together, then we should be."

Danielle nodded in agreement. She felt a small stab of guilt. Ivy was her friend and she hadn't even worried about her. Who knows what could have happened to her?

"Oh, shut up, Danielle. This isn't a melo-drama." she muttered to herself, "Ivy can take care of herself. Can't she?"

Randal, I can't believe you talked me into doing this." Ivy hissed as they edged closer to the jailhouse on the edge of Kissingtown.

"Shhh." Randal replied, "Faolan says to be silent when hunting."

Good advice, Ivy thought as she ducked down and peered through the dark. They were around the back of the jailhouse, good. Even better, the cells had windows. Ivy motioned to Randal to stay put, then crept towards the jailhouse wall. It seemed to her now more sensitive ears that she was a lot quieter on her feet than she had been before. Maybe there was more to this wolf-thing than she had thought. Maybe she had overreacted a little. Maybe now was not the time to way the pros and cons. Ivy sunk in the shadows, hoping that her blonde hair wouldn't give her away to anyone she didn't want to know she was there.

"Faolan." she breathed, trusting that his sharp hearing would pick it up.

Ivy glanced up at the window and saw Faolan was already there. His eyes brightened when he saw her and he looked dangerously close to doing something that might reveal her presence. She motioned for him to be quiet. She pulled out her tail to remind him that she was a wolf now, she would hear. He nodded ever so slightly. Ivy edged up until she was nearly level with the window. Faolan glanced back at the guards nervously.

"Can you get them to take you outside?" she asked.

Faolan mouthed no with a slight shake of his head.

"I didn't think so. Wait and be ready. We're going to get you out." Ivy said, then disappeared back in the shadows before he could answer.

She motioned to Randal and a moment later he was at her side. She nodded to him and he took off again. Another momentary lapse and a howl, short and loud, broke through the air. Randal made as much noise as he could and Ivy could hear him throwing rocks at the walls and door of the jailhouse. Angry shouts came from inside and the jailers emerged, one holding a lantern. Randal grinned wolfishly in a way that reminded her very much of his brother and began aiming the rocks at the jailers. It didn't take more coaxing than that to get them to chase after him. The moment they were gone, Ivy slipped inside. She sprang to Faolan's cell to find him already there, waiting.

"You're insane!" he said in a loud whisper.

"I know. Where are the keys?"

"I…I don't know. One of the guards had them when I saw them." Faolan said, spreading his hands helplessly.

Ivy cursed under her breath and began a frenzied search of the room. There wasn't really a whole lot in there so it was basically just tearing apart a desk and scattering the contents. She prayed the guard hadn't kept the keys on him.

"_What are you doing? You're helping a killer!"_

Ivy growled. She didn't need the voice bothering her right now.

"Wait! Oh! I found the keys!" Ivy said, snatching them up and clutching them so tight that it hurt her hand.

She hurried over to Faolan's cell. He was practically bouncing up and down.

"_You said yourself that the story is repeating. Wolf worked for the Evil Queen originally. What about Faolan?"_

Ivy stopped a pace away from Faolan's cell. She shook her head fiercely and started unlocking the door.

"_Stop! Are you out of your mind?! You let him out and all the lies start again. All the confusion. All the worry. The full moon rolls around again and yours will be the next body they find!"_

Ivy froze again, but at that exact same moment, Randal ran into the room.

"Hurry! They'll be back soon!" he panted.

He saw that Ivy wasn't moving and growled in anger and frustration. He jerked the keys out of her hands and hurriedly unlocked the door.

"_He's not even human, girl! If he doesn't kill you himself, he'll get you killed soon enough. You are __**not**__ a superhero! You __**will**__ die!"_

Ivy felt herself being dragged somewhere, but she couldn't get her eyes to work and tell her who was pulling her along and to where. The next thing she knew she was being almost thrown to the ground.

"Ivy, snap out of it!" someone whispered sharply from very close to her.

Ivy just blinked.

"What's wrong with you?" the same person asked and Ivy felt herself being shaken.

"_How can you trust any of them? They could all be lying to you! What if you're on the wrong side? What if the evil witch isn't even evil? What if she's the good guy?"_

"Okay, Ivy. I really hate to do this."

Ivy gave a sharp yelp when she felt her tail being yanked, hard. A hand clamped over her mouth quickly. Ivy started to panic, struggling wildly. Her eyes went wide and she felt herself bare her teeth and growl.

"Shhh. It's okay. It's me." Faolan said in a quiet voice.

He glanced around nervously as if her outburst might have alerted someone. Ivy realized they were hiding behind some bushes. She had no idea how far they had come, but they had all made it, at least. Ivy looked down at her hands and discovered that she was holding her tail protectively. She quickly dropped it and acted as if nothing had happened. She looked over again and saw Faolan was grinning. The grin disappeared all too quickly, though. He turned so that he was laying flat on his stomach, looking out through the bushes, and sniffed. Ivy sniffed, too. She still wasn't too sure about her senses, but she could smell people. She couldn't distinguish how many or how far away they were, but she could guess it was the jailers and since the smell was kind of faint, they probably were a good distance from them. She heard Faolan sigh with relief and turned towards him.

"We lost them." he said, "Now, what was with you? It was like you weren't there for a minute or something."

Ivy shook her head. She couldn't tell him about the voice.

"Let's just get out of here. I still have to get to that castle, remember." she said, then stopped.

Why was it so important to her to get to Wendell's Castle? She wasn't even sure if she was on the right side anymore. She wasn't sure of anything. She couldn't even think or her mind would explode at what had happened to her mixed with all her doubts. No! She wouldn't do this to herself. She wouldn't start second guessing everything that came out of her mouth. She would get to that castle and figure out the rest form there.

"That hurt, you know." she said, just to distract herself, "Why'd you have to pull so hard? I'm just getting used to having a tail."

Her mind wanted to panic at the thought that _she_ had a tail. That _she_ wasn't totally human anymore. But she wouldn't let it. If she kept her distance from everything, she would be okay.

"I know and I'm sorry. I just had to get you back to yourself." he said apologetically. Then, he smiled shyly, "Did I really pull that hard?"

It was a line. A line to get her to react. She could see that now.

"Yes." she said stiffly and got to her feet, "Now, come on. If we start now we should reach that castle sometime soon."

Faolan seemed momentarily disappointed, then shrugged it off and got to his feet as well. Randal was quick to follow. He looked from Faolan to Ivy curiously.

"Are you two having a fight?" he asked innocently, "'Cause I thought you had to be married before you had fights."

"Randal!" Faolan hissed.

"What?" he demanded.

He rolled his eyes at both of them and started walking. Faolan glared at him and Ivy pretended she hadn't heard.

"Sorry." he said sarcastically, "It's not like I'm the one who got your girlfriend mad at you."

"_Randal!_" Faolan said, even harsher than before, a growl in his voice.

Randal ignored him and kept walking, forcing both of them to follow. Faolan looked at Ivy with a worried look on his face, like Randal might have ruined his whole plan. Ivy pointedly kept her gaze on the surroundings and the path ahead.

"The others are coming back!" Wolf announced, jumping to his feet, "They'll be here in a minute."

Virginia, too, struggled to her feet. Wolf looked over and saw her and immediately bounded over to help her. She looked awfully worried and Wolf frowned, wondering what could be wrong.

"Dad is going to freak when he sees me!" she cried, answering his question.

"Oh, cream puff, I'm sure it will be fine. If I know Tony, he'll…well, he probably will freak. But then he'll be happy for us." Wolf added quickly, seeing how that didn't reassure her.

Virginia glanced at him sideways.

"Somehow that's not as comforting as I'd hoped." she said dryly.

"Have no fear, Virginia. I'm sure Anthony will come to accept the situation." Wendell assured her, coming up behind them.

"What situation?" Tony demanded as he entered at that exact moment. His eyes went wide when he saw his daughter standing there, "Virginia!"

"Told you I smelled them." Cinnamon said stiffly from behind him.

She and Maive followed Tony over to the others. Tony practically ran over to hug Virginia.

"I was really worried about you, you know?" he said.

"I'm fine, dad. It's just…oh!" Virginia cried, pulling away from Tony and placing a hand on her stomach, "He kicked again."

Tony looked down at Virginia's stomach and his eyes went wide again. He stumbled backwards and actually fainted!

"Dad!" Virginia cried.

Wendell quickly knelt next to Tony and began slapping his cheeks until he was revived again.

"I think he took it well." Wolf commented and quickly hid his usual wolfish grin from Virginia.

"Real well." Danielle said sarcastically.

"Uh huh." Cinnamon nodded.

Maive covered a giggle.

"Anthony, are you alright?" Wendell was asking.

"How can I be alright?! My daughter looks like she might explode! God, what is this? Father of the Bride?" Tony yelled.

"I'm standing right here." Virginia said darkly, her eyes narrowing with anger, "And I won't explode."

Tony scrambled back to his feet. He spun on Wolf and jabbed him in the chest with an accusing finger.

"This is all your fault! Why is my daughter so huge already?" he demanded.

"Ow!" Wolf said, pushing Tony's hand away, "Don't ask me. I don't know anything about pregnant stuff. All I know is that our cub is growing real fast."

Tony looked ready to kill. Wolf ducked behind Virginia for protection. Not that he needed it, of course.

"Dad, calm down. I mean…this can't be good for your blood pressure." Virginia said quickly.

"My blood pressure!" Tony yelled, then forced himself to calm a little, "Do you at least know when around the baby will come?"

"Well…" Virginia said, avoiding his gaze.

"Excuse me." Tony said shortly.

He turned around and walked to the nearest tree where he began pounding his head against it. Everyone looked at Wendell, the only one who could possibly calm him down and reason with him.

"Well." Wendell said, "I guess I'll go talk to him."

Everyone was very quiet as Wendell walked over to Tony and tried to reason with him.

"Glad he's not my dad." Danielle commented into the silence.


	17. Chapter 17

-1Ivy increased her pace for about the tenth time and ignored her sore knee. It was telling her she was pushing herself too hard, but she really didn't care. Amazingly, it wasn't hurting as bad as it should. Maybe that was another affect of being a wolf. Or maybe she just wasn't feeling it.

"Ivy." Faolan almost whined, bounding to catch up to her, "You're walking kind of funny, you know."

Ivy didn't reply. Just listening to Faolan tore her up inside. Part of her wanted so much to say to heck with everything, give him a chance. Maybe he is your mate. Another part of her couldn't do that, couldn't let herself trust him that completely. She didn't need to make those warring emotions worse by making it a conversation with him.

"Are you hurt?" Faolan asked with concern, "If you're hurt I don't want you to keep this up. We'll take a break for a while…"

Ivy didn't like his tone for some reason.

"I don't care what you want." she said through clenched teeth.

Faolan looked stricken.

"What did I do?" he asked, practically begging her to tell him, "Just tell me how to fix it."

Ivy couldn't take it anymore. She needed to vent her feelings and unfortunately for Faolan, he had released them.

"You can't." Ivy said, whirling on him, "I want that witch to just go away. I want the voice to go away. I want all these feelings to go away. I want…"

Ivy broke off, biting her lip. She was disgusted with herself. If she stamped her foot and threw a temper-tantrum, she would be acting just like a spoiled, rich, brat.

"Do you want me to go away?"

God, he sounded so hurt. She forced herself not to look at him, knowing that the look on his face would be too much for her.

"I don't…I mean…no, not really. Maybe. Oh! I don't know! I don't know anything!" Ivy cried.

Faolan whimpered. He wanted to nuzzle her cheek. He wanted to hold her real close so he could feel her heart beat. He wanted to kiss her again and make her laugh. That's what he wanted. But he could almost feel the wall she had put around herself, forcing him and the rest of the world to keep their distance. The only way he could help her was if she let him in. And he didn't think she was ready to do that yet.

"Please, just…let's just get to Wendell's Castle." Ivy pleaded.

Faolan nodded. Yes, that was where the mirror was. Then, she could go back to her world where she would be safe. That would be best. Even if it left him without his mate.

"Okay. As soon as I'm sure you're safe, I'll leave you alone." he promised.

"Uh…guys?" Randal asked quietly.

"What Randal?" Faolan asked, his voice weary.

"There's a horse and rider coming this way fast. From the way we came. I was just thinking that since you're supposed to be in prison…" Randal trailed off uncertainly.

"Cripes, you're right!" Faolan cried, dashing off the road to hide behind some trees.

Randal was right behind him. But Ivy remained where she was.

"_This is your chance. You know you won't be able to handle traveling with that wolf all the way. You haven't done anything wrong. They're not after you_." the voice whispered.

"Ivy!" Faolan called urgently as the pounding of horse's hooves grew louder, "Come on!"

The horse and rider came into view suddenly. The rider saw her and pulled his mount back to a trot, then a walk, then finally came to a halt right in front of her. The rider was a young man with some kind of royal crest on his shirt. He looked very anxious.

"You're blocking an official road, miss. Is there a problem?" he asked.

"I…" Ivy choked on her words.

Could she actually just leave Faolan and Randal without so much as a goodbye?

"_Do it. Do it!"_

"Are you headed to King Wendell's Castle?" she managed to ask.

"Why, yes. I am a royal messenger. Why?" he asked.

"I…um…need a ride." Ivy admitted.

The messenger's eyes got wide.

"Of course! A young lady shouldn't be wondering around by herself during war-time." he said and extended a hand to her to help her up.

"War-time?" Ivy asked.

The messenger frowned.

"You don't know? The entire 9 Kingdoms has broken out in war! And half of it's civil war. It's a disaster! That is why I must find King Wendell." he said importantly, sticking out his chest with pride, "All the messengers before me have not returned. It is my mission to find King Wendell and return to the war-front with his instructions."

Ivy didn't know if she could tell him that the last she knew, Wendell had been a dog.

"Come on, then. I'm in quite a hurry, you understand." the messenger said impatiently.

Ivy glanced back at the trees, but couldn't see either of her companions. She sighed and took the messenger's hand and swung up behind him.

"She left! I can't believe she left!" Faolan cried, running out into the road to look after the horse that was quickly riding away, forgetting caution.

He caught Ivy looking back at him. Randal ran up behind him and tugged on his shirt.

"What's going on?" he whimpered.

"I don't know, Randal. Something's very wrong. Huff-puff, everything's wrong. War across the 9 Kingdoms, this is bad. What am I going to do?" Faolan asked out loud.

He looked down the road again just as the horse disappeared from view.

"Come on, Randal." Faolan said, taking his brother's hand.

"What're we going to do?" Randal asked.

"We're going to follow her. I won't let her face that witch alone."

Whatever Wendell said to Tony, it worked. Tony stopped hitting his head on the tree and returned to the group. But he was unusually silent and Virginia didn't have the nerve to press him. She really wanted him to be okay with this even though he didn't really have a choice in the matter. The baby would come, like it or not. What a horrible thing for her to think! Of course she would like for her baby to come! She would love her baby and so would her father.

Wendell dropped back next to her and put a reassuring arm around her.

"Don't worry. He'll come around soon. He's just not used to the idea that his daughter's all grown up and going to have a child of her own." he explained.

Virginia nodded. She was distracted by a growling noise and looked over to see Wolf growling at Wendell. Apparently, Wendell heard him, too.

"Oh, stop that, Wolf. She's not only your wife, she's my step-sister." Wendell said.

"Step-what?" Wolf asked in surprise.

"What?" Virginia demanded at the same time.

"What did he just say?" Tony asked, turning around simultaneously.

"She's your what?" Maive piped in.

Wendell smiled at their reaction. He took a step back, as if he were taking the floor for a speech.

"Virginia's mother was my step-mother so she's my step-sister. And Wolf, since you're married to her, you're my step-brother-in-law. Tony, you're also related to me since my step-mother was married to you and your Virginia's father. And since you're all related to a king, that makes you royalty. Lady Virginia, Lord Anthony, and Lord Wolf."

"Lord Wolf! Huff-puff, no wolf has ever been given a title! No human title, anyway." Wolf exclaimed.

"A lord!" Cinnamon cried in astonishment, "You…you'll be a leader to all wolves…everywhere!"

"I'm a lord." Tony said in something close to awe, "I always knew I was meant for something better than a janitor. Murray's got nothing on me!"

"I'd already begun the official paperwork. I told you I hadn't forgotten you, Anthony." Wendell said.

"Great. Now we just need to survive this little episode." Maive said, not to thrilled with the idea of annoying, grumpy Tony becoming royalty. No doubt, he would try to boss her around even more, "Remember Marissa? Yeah, the witch that ruins all our reputations by trying to destroy us all. She might not find this as exciting as you all do."

"Yeah, we remember, Maive. Thanks." Tony snapped. He withdrew into himself again, "I'm a lord..."

Cinnamon's head shot up as her ears caught an out-of-place sound. She stood up and cocked her head slightly so as to better concentrate on the sound. A pounding, like…hooves? She sniffed. Yes, she could definitely smell horse. Not one of her favorite smells. And human, too. And…half-wolf? That was strange. Wolves and horses didn't usually get along well. She hadn't with the couple horses she had met. Plus, the wolf smell…it seemed new, somehow. Like it didn't quite fit. How odd.

"Someone's coming." she reported.

The others all got to their feet and began looking around for whoever was headed their way. A few minutes later, a horse galloped into view. A young man rode in front and a girl, the half-wolf, rode behind him. The man saw Wendell and pulled his horse to a stop, yanking roughly on the reins so hard that the animal threw up it's head in pain. The girl slid off and hurried to the animal's head, soothing it and giving the man a dirty look. Cinnamon remembered now where she knew the girl from. It was the other girl from New York, Ivy she believed her name was. She was a little bemused at the girl. She had to know that her friend, Danielle, and all her companions were there, but she was seeing to the horse first.

"You're going to destroy this horse's mouth and it's temperament if you keep doing that." she growled, giving the horse a final pat before turning to the others, "Danielle! Everyone's here! More than everyone. Who and…uh…what are you?" she asked, pointing at Breena.

"I'm Breena and I'm a fairy, thank you very much." she said indignantly.

"Where have you been?" Danielle demanded.

"And why are you a half-wolf? And why do you smell of other half-wolves?" Cinnamon asked.

Danielle's eyes widened and so did almost everyone else's, including the messenger. He shook his head and cleared his throat before presenting himself before Wendell. He bowed deeply.

"King Wendell, I have brought you news from the war-front. Many messengers have been sent to your castle, but none have returned. We are in desperate need of your guidance. I have news from all the Kingdoms, the latest advancements, and personal letters from Commander Forswell." he said officially, "Also, I have some minor news of a murdering half-wolf on the loose and his two accomplices."

He glanced at Ivy suspiciously.

"War-front!" Wendell cried.

Instead of explaining, the messenger handed Wendell a large packet of papers. Wendell hurriedly began reading them and the further he read, the more worried he looked.

"How did…? What did…? When did…?" Danielle spluttered.

Ivy smiled slightly.

"A couple days ago. I drank from a brook that I shouldn't have. Luckily, I didn't drink enough to turn me all the way into a wolf. Actually, it's kind of…cool. I can smell really well now, I can hear better, I think my sight's better. In fact, I know my night vision is better than it was. I can run better…" Ivy would have continued, but Danielle waved her hands to stop her.

"So…what are you going to do? I mean, you can't stay a half-wolf. The full moon, a tail. Your parents'll freak if they find out." Danielle said.

"My parents!" Ivy cried and it sounded a little like a yelp, "They've probably called the cops! They're going to kill me!"

"Your parents? You've met my mom, over-protective lady? Oh, man." Danielle groaned and forced herself not to think about what her mom would do to her.

"That's the least of your problems right now." Cinnamon said and they both spun towards in surprise, "You still haven't answered my other question. Why do you smell of other half-wolves? Male, if I smell right. One of their scents is quite strong on you, almost as if…"

"They found me in the beanstalks, alright." Ivy interrupted rather loudly. She sounded more than a little defensive and her tone caused some of the others to glance at her strangely, "Their names are Randal and Faolan and they're brothers. I've been traveling with them this whole time until this morning when I got a ride with that messenger."

Cinnamon raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"And what about that whole accomplice thing?" Danielle asked, then lowered her voice, "Was that you? One of those wolves killed somebody and you helped him?!"

"No!" Ivy said even more loudly and now all the others were looking at her, "Well, yes. But he might not have killed that girl."

"Might?!"

"I don't really know. And he doesn't remember because it was during that freak full moon. I'll explain everything to you later." Ivy promised, although she had no idea how she could explain it.

How could she ever find words to explain her inner turmoil? She still wasn't really sure why she had helped Faolan. Randal had been an influence, but she had to be honest with herself. Part of her had wanted to break Faolan out the minute they had thought of it. The same part of her that believed his words. And the same part of her that thought maybe he could really be her mate.

"I need to take a walk. I'll be back in a minute." Ivy said suddenly, leaping to her feet and running off.

Danielle glanced after her friend. She was sure acting strangely. Danielle looked to Cinnamon, wondering if she knew more than she was letting on. Cinnamon met her gaze for a moment, then turned away without a word. If she knew something, she wasn't telling. Danielle sighed. She really didn't like being left out of things, but sometimes it couldn't be helped. She decided to go and see if she could help Wendell at all with this war stuff. She watched T.V. and read a lot of books. Maybe they could come up with a plan. Funny, she hadn't thought she'd want anything to do with Wendell after that whole…kissing business, but as it turned out, he was really a great guy. He had been the first one to her aid when Cinnamon had almost attacked her. And he had been there for her to talk to when she was feeling lonely and jumpy. She really hoped that she could help him get back to his castle. She really didn't want something bad to end up happening to him…or to any of the others, of course. Yes, it would be best if they could get rid of this witch and they could all…live happily ever after? Danielle rolled her eyes at the thought. Yeah, right. Well, at least they could get started on doing something now that Ivy was here. No more waiting!

"Wendell!" she called, running over to the spot on the ground where he had spread out his papers and was talking with the messenger, "What's the news?"

Faolan could have run faster, but he knew that Randal wouldn't be able to handle the pace if he did. Good thing his little brother was as fast as he was. They hadn't fallen too far behind. Faolan wouldn't have been able to stand a slower pace.

"How could she? What did I do?" Faolan asked out loud again.

Randal didn't even bother to remind him he was talking out loud.

What had Ivy said about a voice? A voice that she wanted to go away, that was it. What voice? Was that what was wrong with her? She shouldn't be alone for any amount of time, much less the time it would take for them to catch up. No, not with that witch still at Wendell's Castle like Ivy had said she was.

"She'll probably be mad at you for following her." he told himself, "But maybe you'll rescue her and then she'll see. Yes, huff-puff, then she'll see how much you lo…how much you care about her. But maybe that witch will be really bad and there won't be a happy ending. What if I get killed? What is she gets ki…"

Faolan choked on the word. He couldn't say that! He couldn't even think it. He wouldn't let that happen.

He couldn't say the other word for a totally different reason. That word had scared her off when he had been about to say it before. He had to be very careful what he said and did. He didn't want to lose her. He wondered what advice Wolf would give him if he could talk to him.

"Randal, she likes you. Why?" Faolan asked, suddenly.

Randal shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Oh, gee, that helps. Can't you run any faster?" Faolan asked impatiently.

Randal growled irritably. His brother was always this way when he was worried. He tried not to let his brother get on his nerves and ran a little faster.

"They're all together. Now to turn them on each other and drive them apart." Marissa said, "Mirror, if I get them not to trust one another, split them apart, will your prophecy be broken?"

The mirror's face appeared slowly. It's rhymes were annoying, but at least she didn't have to rhyme at it.

"Only together can they pull through.

Divided they cannot defeat you.

But beware, destiny plays a hand

In their fates as well as that of the land." the mirror said and faded away again.

Marissa smiled. Soon. Her goals were all so close. Soon, her plans would be fulfilled.

"Perhaps it is time to call my most faithful servant home." she mused.

Marissa turned to a different mirror and called up a picture of her servant in the 10th Kingdom. He sensed she was watching him and looked right at her in a way that made her shiver. He quickly went to a mirror.

"Such destruction. It's beautiful. You should see how efficient their weapons are for killing. They have weapons that can kill thousands in one blow." he said as if he spoke of the most wonderful thing in the Kingdoms, "What is it you want? If you're checking on my progress, I can assure you that by midnight tomorrow, this kingdom will be destroyed."

"Good, good. But that's not why I called you. I think it's time for you to return. I may need your assistance." Marissa said.

She would never say that she needed his "help". He might be on her side, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of her if he got the chance. His kind were notorious for doing whatever was needed to achieve their ends. It was probably a good thing that they were all extinct except for him. One was enough.

He was right, though. By midnight tomorrow it would be over. Either the Kingdoms would be destroyed as would those pretend-heroes or she would be.

Ivy was glad when she was engulfed in trees. Somehow it made her feel more secure. She didn't go far, just far enough to ensure her privacy. She doubted anyone could sneak up on her now other than another wolf. It seemed to her that she could hear every bird chirp and every leaf rustle anywhere near her.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked out loud.

The relative silence of the woods answered her. Ivy sighed and collapsed in the foliage near the base of a large tree. She seriously felt like crying, but wouldn't let herself. Of course, trying to stop her tears just made them more determined. She sniffed and the noise seemed loud to her.

"I don't deserve to be here." Ivy said, sniffing again, "This is a magical place. I get here and wars start. Maybe if I leave, everything will be good again."

And what about Faolan, her thoughts nagged at her.

"He'll be better, too, if I'm gone. He'll find a nice, pretty girl and they'll fall in love and live happily ever after. Me? No, I'm just a nobody. I'm not the kind of girl who finds a nice guy who really loves her. No. I'll end up some crazy old lady who yells at kids as they go by and waves her broom at them. And…and…I'll have ferrets. Yeah, I'll have lots of ferrets and I'll call them my babies." Ivy smiled slightly to herself, even though she was actually crying now, "Crazy ferret lady, they'll call me. Run, run from crazy ferret lady, they'll scream."

Ivy laughed weakly at her imitation of one of Chandler's lines from a Friends episode. She rubbed her eyes furiously, but it didn't seem to help.

"I'm probably already crazy. Yeah, this is probably some wild fantasy I made up. Or another crazy dream. I'll wake up in a minute and write a story about it and go back to my boring, pointless life."

Ivy growled and slammed her fist into the ground angrily.

"Oh, stop it! Stop it, Ivy! Stop feeling sorry for yourself! You…" Ivy shut up quickly.

Had that been her imagination or had she heard the snap of a branch?

"Ow!"

Oh, crap. It was the messenger guy. What was he doing back here? What should she do now? Ivy was about to make a run for it -better that he never even knew she was here, she didn't want anyone to know she was crying- when the owner of that voice stumbled into view. She froze and so did he when he saw her.

"Uh…hello." he said slowly.

For a long moment, neither of them moved. Finally, Ivy couldn't hold her awkward position anymore and fell back into her previous one. She sniffed again involuntarily and tried to hide her face from the messenger.

"Are you crying?" he asked.

"No." Ivy said, but her voice came out strangled. She faked a cough and tried again, "Of course not."

"Yes, you are." he said. He sounded confused, "Why are you crying? I thought that you were…"

"The accomplice of a murdering half-wolf?" she supplied, looking up.

"Well, yes." he admitted, shifting uncomfortably.

"I am. Although the murder part is still questionable. What are you doing here?" Ivy demanded.

The messenger looked shocked. He quickly recovered, taking a deep breath and straightening.

"Well, I was actually…um…coming to…you know…heed the call of nature." he said as if he were rather embarrassed.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that here." Ivy said flatly.

"Of course! I mean…" he was blushing rather profusely, "I'll just go now."

Ivy didn't say anything, but watched silently as he turned to leave. The minute his back was turned, she dropped her face in her hands again, trying to cover her sniffing and half-strangled sobs.

The messenger stopped. He could hear her crying. He really couldn't just leave her like that, it was most ungentleman-like. He sighed and turned around, walking back over to her.

"My name's Peter." he said, for lack of anything else, "What's yours, miss?"

"I don't want to talk right now." she growled from behind her hands.

Peter stiffened at that growl. He had never trusted wolves. Not since he was little and his older brothers had scared him with stories about wolves eating little children. But she wasn't really a wolf. He had heard her tell her friend about the brook. Was that why she was crying?

"Well, maybe you should." he persisted.

She looked up at him, incredulously and he got the distinct impression that she wished he would go climb a beanstalk. Why was everyone always mad at the messenger?

"Well?" he pressed.

"Ivy." she said stiffly.

"Why are you crying, Ivy?" he asked.

"None of your business, Peter." she growled.

"If it's about that brook, I'm sure we'll find some way to reverse the spell…" he said quickly.

"It's not about that. I don't care about that." she interrupted.

"What is it, then? Is it that half-wolf that…well, that…was said to have murdered someone?" he asked, phrasing it as best he could.

She stiffened and he knew he'd hit his mark. What about the half-wolf, though? Had he hurt her? Was she scared?

"Did he do something to you?" Peter asked.

"No. Well, kind of." Ivy admitted.

"What?" Peter heard himself asking.

"He said he loved me."

Peter almost fell over on his backside. True, a wolf proclaiming his love to a young girl must be something of a shock, but was it cause to be crying in the woods? Maybe she was scared of that wolf and he had made advances on her?

"But what…has he been dishonorable?" he asked.

"No! No, nothing like that." she said quickly, "It's complicated. I don't want to talk about it. I came out here to be alone."

He didn't leave so she looked at him.

"I'm okay, really. Shouldn't you be helping Wendell with battle plans or something?" she asked, wiping her eyes and standing up.

"I suppose." Peter said, "Come, it's not safe to be out here alone this close to the Castle. Not from what I've heard about that witch."

Ivy allowed herself to be guided back to the camp. They emerged behind Danielle and Wendell who were sitting rather close to each other, pointing at different marking on some kind of map. Danielle seemed to be explaining something.

"If you center your troops here, they'll get squashed by 1st and 3rd Kingdom armies. You're at the worst disadvantage of all the Kingdoms since yours adjoins all the others. There's no way you'd be able to hold up against an all out assault. You can't fight an eight-front war. The only way we can save the 4th Kingdom is to stop the problem at the roots which means stopping the witch." Danielle said, pointing with finality at Wendell's Castle.

Wendell nodded in grudging agreement.

"You are right. It's the only way." he said.

"So, we're fighting her again?" Ivy asked.

Danielle and Wendell both jumped and turned to look at her. Danielle looked questioningly from Ivy to the messenger's arm that was around her and back again. Ivy stepped away from him.

"Yes. Yes, we are." Wendell agreed, moving away from Danielle when he caught the messenger looking at them in the same questioning manner that Danielle had looked at Ivy.

"I suppose I should wait for the outcome." Peter said.

"Guess so." Danielle agreed. She stood up and turned to address the others, "Well? Are we going to go fight this witch or not?"

Ivy groaned inwardly as she recognized Danielle's "Let's kick butt!" voice. Silence answered her until Wolf slowly nodded.

"Yes. We can sneak in tonight and catch her by surprise. But not you, Virginia. You stay here." Wolf said firmly.

"I…" Virginia began to protest.

"I agree with Wolf. You should stay here." Tony added, cutting her off.

"Since when do you agree with Wolf? Why are you two ganging up on me? Stop pretending you care about me!" Virginia screamed, backing away from them.

Wolf shot a glance at Tony before hurrying toward her.

"Way to go, dad." he snapped.

"Stop arguing!" Maive insisted urgently.

"Oh, shut up." Wendell turned on her, "Do you think you could stay out of other people's business just once? All you do is make it worse."

For a moment, Ivy was confused. What was going on? Why were they all acting like this all of a sudden?

"I might be a little more help if that stupid fairy had granted my wish like she said she would!" Maive said angrily.

"I can't make you a better witch! I'm just a fairy." Breena protested, "I try to help people and look where it gets me."

Soon everyone was yelling at everyone else. Even Peter was up in arms and yelling at Wendell. The only ones not yelling were Ivy and Danielle. Danielle acted like she couldn't even hear them. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking her head, as if disagreeing with a voice only she could hear. A voice…

Just then, Ivy sniffed and caught an all too familiar scent. She spun around just as Faolan ran up. She backed away from him, hugging herself. She was suddenly so cold.

"Stay away from me." she whispered.

Faolan pretended he didn't hear her. He kept walking towards her.

"I know that you're scared. But I wish you hadn't left like that. I know that you think it will all be better if I go away, but I can't. I just can't. Maybe you're right. We are just teenagers, how can we know? But we're wolves, too. Both of us, now. And a wolf knows his mate when he finds her."

Faolan stopped suddenly, afraid he had said too much.

"No! Stop it!" Ivy yelled at him, "I trusted you. I trusted you and you turned on me. I don't care if it was the full moon. That doesn't excuse you. I wish I had never met you!"

Faolan looked as if he were heart-broken.

"How can you say that? You go and steal my heart…and then step on it? Do you know what you're doing to me? I feel like I might as well go to prison and die in a cell if you leave me. I'm your mate whether you like it or not."

"I'm not a wolf. I didn't steal your heart. You don't know me. You can't be my…anything. I'm not…I…" Ivy shivered and couldn't finish her sentence.

So cold. Why was she so cold?

Faolan grabbed her roughly and forced her to stop backing away. She heard herself whimper.

"Use that power of yours and you'll see. You'll see how crazy I am about you." he insisted.

Since she was unable to do anything else, she closed her eyes and used her power. She didn't really want to, but she didn't feel she could refuse.

But her power or whatever it was, went crazy. She was getting feelings from everyone. Fear, anger, rage, annoyance, guilt, worry, desperation, jealousy, doubt. And more cold. Freezing, numbing, biting, over-whelming cold. She tried to pull out, to open her eyes and stop her power, but couldn't. She just kept sinking deeper and the feelings got stronger. She couldn't handle them. She thought she might black out, but she didn't think that's what she did. It felt more like being frozen alive.

Ivy sagged and fell against him. Faolan knew immediately that something was wrong. He lowered her to the ground and hurriedly knelt next to her. Her skin was like ice. No wonder he had seen her shiver. She was shaking uncontrollably even now. He looked around for help, but he couldn't find any. Even his little brother had gotten caught up in all the fighting. Randal was growling and shouting at the royal messenger at the moment. Something about staying away from his big brother's mate, which was okay really, Faolan didn't like the guy very much anyway, but any help would have been welcome.

"Ivy." Faolan said urgently, "I'm sorry. Oh, cripes. Please wake up."

No response at all. Faolan whined. What should he do? He nuzzled her cheek, hoping that would reach her. He froze when he could no longer hear her breathing.

"No. No, you can't do this! You hear me, you can't leave!" Faolan yelled at her.

Faolan quickly leaned over to give her his air, but was thrown backwards through the air. He yelped as he hit the ground. A figure appeared out of nowhere and when its scent hit him, even though he couldn't place it, it made him shudder. Whatever or whoever the figure was, he was tall, taller than Faolan, and lost inside a black cloak. He, it, started slowly towards him, moving directly between him and Ivy. Faolan growled and quickly scrambled back to his feet.

"What are you?" he demanded.

It laughed and the laugh made Faolan wince.

"I'd show you, over-grown pup, but you might die of fright. It happens."

"Are you causing this?" Faolan pressed, gesturing at the group arguing and at Ivy.

"You could say that." it nodded.

Faolan's growl got louder and he lunged at the cloaked figure. Just before he would have hit him, he disappeared and reappeared behind him. Faolan would have spun and attacked again even though he was out-matched, but he was close to Ivy and she needed help. Why didn't the others see what was happening? The only person not in the fight was a dark-haired girl and she had sat down on the ground and drawn into herself. Her eyes darted back and forth like a nervous wolf in the middle of a mob. He should know. Not important.

"Ivy. Please, please, don't do this to me. Wake up." Faolan pleaded. He growled when she didn't respond, "I know you can hear me! Wake up! Now! Right, now. I'll yank your tail if I have to. Come on…"

Faolan was yanked back away and thrown to the ground. He was kicked in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him gasping.

"You want her to wake up, to open her eyes? Alright." the figure said.

Faolan turned his head in time to see it wave a gloved hand over Ivy's face. Her eyes snapped open, but she was just as bad as she had been before. Only now she could see her friends fighting and Faolan getting beat up by a dark, hooded person. Faolan realized his mistake. He had made it worse. Yes, it must be even more horrible for her. But he could see an ever so slight movement of her upper body. She was breathing, even if it was dangerously shallow. Maybe she could hold on long enough for…what? To see him and the others get killed? This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. No, it was all wrong. His thoughts were cut off as he was jerked back to his feet and punched in the face.

Ivy tried to close her eyes again, but couldn't. She couldn't even blink. At least she couldn't feel the others' emotions as strongly through this cold. She did feel fear and was surprised to find it was her own. Her chest hurt with each shaky breath, but even that pain was welcome. If she could feel pain, she was still alive.

Still alive…what did it matter anymore? She was going to die one way or another. She had always been terrified of dying, but she had felt enough fear. She couldn't get out of this so she would die eventually. And so would her friends. And so would this world she had come to love in spite of herself and all that had happened. She wanted to cry for the first time in her life and couldn't.

Marissa smiled. The 10th Kingdom bred some pretty insecure ones, that was for sure. All she had to do was reopen some old wounds, bring up some doubts, tell some lies, and the girl, Danielle, was hers.

"Your parents never loved you. It was your fault they split up. Your mother loves your step-sisters and step-brother more than she loves you. Your dad's already replaced you. He doesn't even want to see you. Why do you think he moved so far away?"

Oh, poor thing. It looked as if she might cry. Marissa laughed.

"You'll never be famous. Your daydreams of being an actress and a singer are laughable. You'll just have an average life. No one will know your name. No one will even care when you die."

Marissa failed to add that that would be soon.

"If you were really some kind of hero, none of this would have happened. It's your fault. Why couldn't you be like the people on T.V.? Why did Wendell ever come to you?"

The girl sniffed and shook her head to say she didn't know.

"Do you want all this to go away, Danielle? It can all go away if you want it to." Marissa offered.

The girl nodded slowly. Marissa's smile widened.

"Take my hand. Then, it'll all be over." she said, holding out her hand.

The girl didn't seem to notice that Marissa had suddenly become visible. She picked up her hand and stared at it a moment, as if it were new to her. Her hand was shaking.

With the girls out of the way, the rest would be simple to destroy.


	18. Chapter 18

-1Faolan felt he was bleeding from numerous places. He could taste blood in his mouth and smell it in his nose. All it did was make him madder. He wanted to tear into whatever the figure in the cloak was, make him pay for doing all this. The problem was, he couldn't touch him. Every time he tried to attack, the figure would disappear and reappear somewhere else.

He shot another glance at Ivy. Still frozen, but still breathing. He couldn't give up. Not as long as there was a chance that he could still save her. Whether she would even look at him afterwards didn't matter. Actually, what mattered most right now was staying alive.

"You're getting boring, wolf." the figure warned.

Faolan bared his teeth.

"If I get bored, I may just have to kill you. Or maybe your little friend?"

Faolan could see the white of the figure's teeth as he grinned. Faolan growled louder and moved closer to Ivy.

"Aw, how sickeningly sweet. The wolfie's going to protect his girlfriend." he sneered.

"What are you?" Faolan demanded again, unsure why it mattered to him.

"Would you really like to know, wolf?" the figure slowly reached up and pushed back his hood, "I'm the last dark elf."

Faolan almost gasped. His eyes widened so big that they hurt. The dark elves were supposed to have all died out!

The elf's skin was dark with a blue tint to it. A long scar ran across his left cheek. He had short silver hair and glowing red eyes. Those red eyes fixed on Faolan and he felt fear wash over him. Dark elves were pure evil. Even worse than evil witches and queens and step-mothers. Faolan had to call on all the wolf in him to remain standing under that gaze.

"I think I will kill you now." the dark elf said.

He stepped closer to Faolan and reached out an un-gloved and claw-like hand. Faolan had the feeling that if that hand touched him, he'd be dead.

Ivy could hear everything, see everything, even smell everything around her. Something in the back of her mind knew that that was impossible, but that didn't matter. All the angry, hurt, and accusing words were swamping her as badly as the feelings had. Worst of all was Faolan and what she now knew was a dark elf. Her brain seemed to be working in slow motion. Her normally whirring mind was having enough trouble just keeping up with the tremendous amount of information her senses were feeding her. She did understand that both Danielle and Faolan were in danger of dying. She wanted to yell at both of them, warn them, but couldn't. She had never felt the need to move until now. She had to do something! Something inside her knew that if one of the group was killed the rest would follow.

"Ivy. Ivy. I can help you if you let me. You have to trust me. That's the only way I can do anything."

Snow White?

"Yes, it's me. Can you trust that if I take your body that I will give it back? Can you let me in?" she asked.

Take my body? You mean switch?

"Yes."

But you're dead!

"Yes. I need you to die. Once I have fixed things as much as I can, you will live again. But you need to let me in. I can't do anything unless I have your complete trust. You must hurry. There isn't much time." Snow White urged.

But I…

Ivy focused on the dark elf's hand moving closer to Faolan. Somehow at the same time she saw Danielle's hand moving closer to the witch's.

Okay.

"I need more than an okay."

Yes! Switch us! What do you want from me? I trust you. Now, save my friends!

Ivy felt her breathing stop. The cold swelled and seeped through her entire body. Her lungs froze, but burned for air at the same time. She wanted to scream, but couldn't get it out. For one moment she felt betrayed and a hundred other emotions at the same time. Then, everything stopped.

Faolan felt more than anything else that Ivy was stirring behind him. He felt a little hope at the same time as he was filled with a sinking despair. It wasn't until he felt cool hands pushing him back did he break free of the dark elf's gaze. He saw Ivy step into his place just as the elf's hand closed on her shoulder. He saw a shudder run through her and from her to the elf. The elf's eyes went wide. His reaction was mirrored by Ivy. They both fell to their knees. Ivy shuddered again and fell back on the ground. Her eyes closed and her body went limp. A moment later, the dark elf's eyes dimmed to black and he, too, fell to the ground, limp.

Faolan snapped out of his haze and fell to his knees next to Ivy. He hurriedly searched for a pulse. There was none. He checked the dark elf. They were both…dead.

Faolan howled and everyone stopped.

Danielle jerked back, snatching her hand back to her. She looked from it to the witch, shocked at what she had been about to do. Her hands curled into fists and dropped back to her sides. Her mouth was set in a grim line as she slowly rose to her feet. The witch would pay for making her feel that way, for saying those things.

"Okay, now it's time for major butt-kicking."

Danielle thrust her arms out in front of her, opening her fists at the last moment. She felt power run down her arms and burst out her hands. It hit the witch and she stumbled. Danielle hit her again and this time she fell to her knees. A third time nearly knocked her unconscious.

Danielle paused. She felt that she could kill her, but she wasn't ready to do that. She couldn't kill somebody! But what should she do? This was the part where the cavalry was supposed to show up and take the bad guy away. According to The Handbook. But there wasn't any cavalry in sight.

Before Danielle could react, the witch lunged at her and knocked her to the ground. She pulled a knife from her clothing and pressed it against Danielle's throat. Danielle struggled, but she felt the knife break the skin. The next thing she knew the witch was yanked off her. She looked up and saw Wendell throwing the witch aside. He looked down at her quickly.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, stunned.

"Good." he said quickly.

Danielle scrambled to her feet in a hurry. She turned to see that the witch was lying face down in the grass, unmoving. Wendell turned her over and Danielle saw that she had fallen on her knife. And the witch was an old woman, again. Wendell looked back at Danielle. He looked sick.

"She's dead." he said.

Maive appeared next to Wendell and checked for herself.

"I don't understand. I thought she was nearly invincible with the rose." she said in confusion.

"She was." Danielle said.

She opened her fist to show them the golden rose in her hand.

"She dropped it." Danielle said quietly.

Faolan tried not to cry, but it was too hard. He couldn't believe she had saved him, given her life. No, no, no. He couldn't live happily ever after without her. Faolan buried his face against her shoulder.

"As long as you're there, could you scratch the top of my shoulder? Got a bad itch."

Faolan's head shot up. Ivy smiled at his surprise and sat up.

"You're alive." he said in disbelief, "You…you're alive!"

He hugged her so suddenly and fiercely that she fell over. He didn't seem to notice, he was too busy touching her face frantically with his hands, as if afraid that she wasn't all there.

"Yeah. I am." she agreed and didn't bother to push him off.

Faolan seemed to gain a little control over himself and pulled back, pulling her back up into a sitting position.

"But how?" he asked, holding her hand tightly.

Faolan didn't know how to tell her that he was afraid to let go. He had an over-whelming fear that the moment he let go, she would be gone again. He was surprised when she squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Well, Snow White came to me and said that she could help, but I had to switch bodies with her. And since she was dead, I had to die once to do it. She had to die again in my body to kill the dark elf. It was the only way. She told me it was worth it. She also said that she thinks you're cute."

Ivy smiled.

"You died twice! For us?" he asked, gesturing at the group.

"Yeah." Ivy nodded, "And you know what? I've never felt so…good."

Faolan hugged her again. She finally laughed and pushed him away. She got to her feet and pulled Faolan up after her. He followed her over to her friends, still holding her hand tightly.

"So what do we do now?" Virginia was asking.

Her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying. So were many of the others.

"I think we should bury her and the rose." Wolf said, fidgeting nervously.

"The rose, too?" Cinnamon asked.

Everyone shot a look at her.

"I mean, after all the trouble…oh, forget it. I want that rose." Cinnamon admitted and tried to snatch the rose from Danielle.

"Cinnamon!" Wolf cried in surprise.

Cinnamon growled. The influence of the dark elf and the witch had set off some of the wolf impulses that she had suppressed. The bad wolf impulses. Truth be told, the reason she lived all alone in the deepest woods was that she had been exiled from all nearby villages. She stole what she could and traded it to traveler's for supplies such as food when the hunting was bad. She hadn't missed the villages much. A half-wolf girl was considered free game among village boys and the lowliest form of life by the village girls. Especially an orphan half-wolf. Those same villagers had paid for harassing her, though. If they wandered into her woods, she would chase them, scare them, and ensure they stayed out of her territory. If they didn't wander from their cozy little homes, she would target them for her theft. She new each and every one of them by name, face, and scent. Oh, yes. She had had a long time to memorize them all.

"Okay, I admit it. I'm a bad wolf. But I've been good. I helped stop the witch. Shouldn't I get some kind of reward?" she demanded.

"No one should have that rose. It's caused enough trouble." Tony announced.

"What am I saying? I want to be a good wolf, I really do." Cinnamon said almost a whine and, before she realized what she was doing, spilled out her story to them all.

"We'll help you, Cinnamon. But right now we have to get rid of that rose." Wolf said.

"Could I see it?" Ivy asked.

Everyone turned on her. Before anyone could question Ivy's intentions, Danielle gave the rose to her.

"Thank you." she said shortly.

She looked at Faolan quickly and slowly he released her hand, but stayed very close to her. She smiled reassuringly, then turned back to the rose. She cupped her hands around it and closed her eyes. There was a small flash and that was all. She opened her hands to show everyone that the flower was wilted and dead.

"What did you do?" Danielle asked.

"I used the last of both my and its magic to fix things. Time's a little different when you're dead. I had a lot of time to think. Plus, I had Snow White to give me advice for a little. I stopped the wars, that was the rose's magic. And I changed me. Much as I was coming to enjoy being a half-wolf, I realized that I couldn't stay that way. I didn't have enough power to make me completely human, I still have a little wolf in me, but nothing that could endanger me or anyone else. Cinnamon, I had to give the necklace back to the goblins. They'd declared war on wolves and sneaky red-heads. It was the only way to satisfy them. Sorry." she finished.

Cinnamon suppressed a growl and nodded. She didn't need it, she didn't. It was for the best really. Yes, this was the start of her being a good wolf.

"Dead?" Virginia asked, thankfully distracting her.

Ivy smiled again.

"Twice actually. I'll explain later. I think it's about time Wendell got back to his castle."

No one argued with that. Least of all, Wendell.

By the time they had reached Wendell's throne room, Ivy had managed to explain almost everything as best she could. She hadn't been able to restore everything. Riding Hood still fumed at Wendell and Wolf, the Council of the 9 Kingdoms was still upset with each other, there were still hard feelings all over. As for the 10th Kingdom, it was back to its normal self, which was pretty shaky at that.

She had even explained her new-found enlightenment about this whole adventure, that everything had to have happened. That had been hardest to explain.

"See, the reason Danielle and I were brought here was to learn something. That was the purpose behind all of this. Each of us had something that we needed to discover. I needed to learn trust. Danielle needed to learn to believe in herself. Wendell needed to relearn humility and a small lesson about self-pity. Cinnamon needed to find the good wolf inside her. Wolf needed to find his sister and learn a little about raising a cub. After Danielle, your cub'll be a breeze. Tony, you needed to find that you don't need to prove yourself to anyone. You needed to find your own self-worth. Maive needed to find that she is a good witch…"

At that point, she had been interrupted by Maive who claimed that she wasn't. Ivy smiled softly.

"But you are. You just don't know your talent. You brought out the magic in two 10th Kingdom girls who didn't even know they had it. Snow White believes the Major Coven will use you as the tester of new witch's potential. You see?"

Maive had nodded slowly, her eyes had been very wide.

"Breena needed to break free of the other fairies and learn to be her own person…er…fairy. Faolan, you needed to learn almost the same thing. You needed to be your own wolf, not the one your parent's wanted you to be, or even the one Randal wanted you to be. Or the one I wanted you to be. Plus, you were supposed to help me and you did. Randal needed to learn a little about fending for himself. Sorry, kid."

Randal had made a face.

"What about me?" Virginia had asked.

"Virginia, we were supposed to break you into the task of helping lost girls, but it didn't turn out too well. You needed to have faith in Wolf and Tony and in yourself. By the way, Snow White is very proud of you. Oh, and Wolf. She reminded me to give this to you. She said not to read it, just to have it sent to Queen Riding Hood." Ivy had then handed Wolf the letter.

Wolf had looked confused, but he'd taken it and nodded.

Later, when she got the chance, she might try to explain in detail. How becoming a half-wolf had allowed her to see that on the inside she was half like what Snow White had told her Virginia had been like and half like she was also informed Wolf was like. Unfortunately, the Virginia side had won out for a long time. And how Faolan had ultimately pushed her to the point where she could see these things and she could make a decision like the one Snow White had given her. But that was too much for now.

"You know, " Danielle's voice cut through Ivy's musing as it often did, "if I were a psychologist type person, and from what Maive's told me about that witch, I'd say this was a classic cry for attention."

"What?" more than one of the group demanded.

"Well, think about it. She was ignored by her village, ignored by the other witches. Plus, she's had a lifetime to stew about it. Just seems that's what it was." Danielle shrugged.

Wolf scratched his temple.

"And she was different, even from the other witches. Being different is a lonely path in life." he said, looking towards Virginia.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Wendell cleared his throat noisily to get their attention.

"Perhaps we should all get some food and rest. If you're quite sure my guards are all under my command and not the witch's?" he paused for Ivy to nod, "Good. For those of you who are hungry, I can have dinner ready in half an hour. If not, I can have rooms found for you. That is, as soon as I find Lord Rupert. Excuse me." Wendell said and left the room.

Everyone seemed a little lost. Now that it was all over, they didn't know what to do.

"Are you hungry?" a voice asked near Ivy's ear.

Ivy jumped and spun around. Faolan grinned. Ivy relaxed and smiled back. How many times was he going to do that to her before she would catch him at it?

"Not really. I'd rather just get some sleep. But I do need to talk to you."

Faolan nodded.

"You do realize that I have to leave? Go back to the 10th Kingdom." Ivy asked.

Faolan frowned. He hadn't realized that.

"Why?" he asked.

"I have to finish school. I want to go to college." Ivy said.

Faolan's frown deepened.

"You're still in school? What's college and how long will it take? If you're going, I want to go, too!" he said with such conviction that it made her smile.

"College is a school where you learn things, like for a job. College is usually four years long. But you have to be really smart to get into the best ones." Ivy explained.

"But…that means I can't go, right?" Faolan sounded terribly disappointed.

"I don't think so. Not because you're not smart enough, it's just…well, you don't have any records, any grades. Do you even have a last name?" Ivy wondered.

"Last names are for humans. I have a pack name. Four years is much too long. I'm going with you to the 10th Kingdom and that's that." he said with a huff and crossed his arms, as if daring her to say otherwise.

"Where will you stay?"

"With you." he said liked she had asked a very stupid question.

"You can't stay with me! I live with my parents! I just don't see…" Ivy began, staring at her hands as if they might hold the answer to the problem.

Faolan kissed her quickly.

"Shhh. Don't worry. Something will work out." he said, changing his tactics so quickly that she fell for it.

"Oh, my god! Can it be?" Danielle cried, hurrying over, "Ivy's first boyfriend? Am I delusional?"

"Shut up." Ivy said, trying hard not to blush. She broke into a yawn, "I'm tired. Faolan, we can talk with Wolf and Virginia tomorrow."

"Actually, would you mind if I went to talk to Wolf now? Just some private wolf stuff." Faolan said hurriedly.

"That's fine." Ivy shrugged.

Faolan quickly went over to where Wolf and Virginia were talking.

Danielle grinned at her friend, "Not bad. He's pretty cute. He seems to really care about you."

"He does." Ivy nodded, "I can see that now."

"Uh…excuse me?" Faolan said uncertainly.

Wolf and Virginia turned towards him. With both their gazes on him, Faolan was even more nervous. He fidgeted.

"Snow White said I should talk to you, Wolf. And that Ivy should talk with you, Virginia. But she's really tired. What I'm trying to say is…Wolf, could I talk to you?" Faolan said quickly before Wolf could refuse.

Wolf looked at Virginia, then at Faolan and shrugged.

"Sure." he said.

Virginia kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm tired, too. I'm going up to our room." she said.

Wolf nodded. He watched Virginia until she left the room, then turned back to Faolan.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

Faolan glanced back at Ivy who was now talking to the recently located Lord Rupert. Wolf followed his gaze.

"Oh." he said.

"Yeah." Faolan agreed, "I really, really like her. And I think she likes me. Well, now she does. But it's been pretty shaky. I just want to make sure…." Faolan trailed off uncertainly.

Wolf nodded and grinned. He steered Faolan over to a corner where they sat down.

"If you want, tell her that she's your very first girlfriend and about wolves mating for life. Virginia seemed surprised by that. But huff-puff, don't be surprised if you're not her first…." Wolf began.

"Oh, I am. Her friend said so. I've been teaching her to be a wolf. It wasn't hard, really. I think she's a wolf at heart." Faolan said, glancing at her again and sighing.

"Lucky you. She seems like a nice girl. She reminds me of Virginia. And you remind me of me when I was younger, matter of fact. Oh! Whatever you do, don't even discuss shepherdesses around her. They don't like that." Wolf warned.

"Shepherdesses? I guess that excludes milk maids and farm girls, too, huh?"

After all that had just happened, sleep was the last thing on Danielle's mind. She had been disappointed to find that she didn't have any more magic. She guessed she had used it all up. She hadn't known that was possible.

So, she joined Wendell, Cinnamon, Maive, Tony, and the messenger, Peter, at the long banquet table for dinner. She sat on Wendell's left next to Maive and Peter. Tony and Cinnamon were on his right. Breena had gone off somewhere, probably to get her own dinner of whatever fairies ate. The others had all gone to bed, except for Faolan and Wolf who had still been talking when the diners had left.

"I've been meaning to ask you…" Wendell said quietly and Danielle jumped when she realized he was talking to her, "My grandmother, does she…well, what I mean is, is she…"

"Spit it out, Wendell." Danielle pressed.

Wendell seemed surprised at being addressed that way, but nodded. She was right.

"Did she seem like she was proud of me?" he asked so quietly that she had to lean closer to hear him.

"I'm sure she is!" Danielle assured him.

Wendell sighed with relief and smiled.

"Thanks."

"Wendell, about that princess thing? You really meant that?" Danielle asked, changing the subject.

"Of course. I'll do whatever I can. But don't get your hopes too high yet." Wendell warned her.

"I won't." Danielle lied.

She was silent for a little bit as she ate, half-listening to the conversation around her. Wendell kept assuring Peter that after he delivered one last message to Commander Forswell for him that he would have a long leave of absence. Tony was explaining bouncy castles to Maive. Cinnamon was silent, eating hungrily.

"You know, " Danielle commented suddenly, "This would make a great movie. Well, here I guess it would have to be a play. I would portray myself, of course. Maybe it could be a musical."

"A musical?" Maive asked.

"You don't have musicals here? I hope you have plays."

Danielle frowned.

"We tend to call them traditional reenactments and they're only at major functions." Wendell offered.

"Oh, no, no, no. That won't do. It looks like I've got a job to do. I'll whip up an acting troupe… I'll be like Shakespeare! Well, maybe not. I'll start working on it and after graduation I'll make a trip back and…boy, am I going to have to think to work this one out. Oh, well. I'll make Ivy do it." Danielle shrugged.

Wendell smiled at her enthusiasm.

"So you will be coming back?" he asked.

Danielle nodded.

"Definitely. You think we could stay in the boring old 10th Kingdom after this?"

"Boring?!" Maive exclaimed, "How could you call it boring? I'd like to go back just to figure out some of the things I saw!"

"I'd like to go, too."

"Wendell?" Danielle asked, surprised, "But don't you have…you know, king stuff?"

Wendell sighed.

"You're right, I suppose. I do have to try and repair the rest of the damages here. Paperwork all the way to happily ever after. Political conferences, official reports, diplomatic visits to the other Kingdoms. Especially the 2nd Kingdom. Sometimes, I almost miss being a dog." Wendell sighed again, "What about you, Anthony? Are you going back to the 10th Kingdom?"

Tony paused in his eating and thought. He slowly shook his head.

"I don't think so. Besides, I've still got those bouncy castles to make for you. I've made up some plans, but there's still a lot to do. Plus, I'm a lord here! Why would I give that up?" Tony finished.

Wendell brightened a little.

"Perhaps I will be able to sneak away one of these days then. You and Lord Rupert should be able to handle things."

Wendell said, getting more and more excited as he mentally made plans.

"Sure, Wendy." Tony agreed.

Everyone was quiet again until Danielle pushed her chair back and stood up.

"I think I'll turn in. Is that Lord Rupert person still in the throne room?"

"Most likely." Wendell nodded.

"Just look for a pink suit." Tony added with a small sneer.

"Ooookay." Danielle said as she back away, then turned and went back to the throne room.

She entered just as Wolf was leaving. She waved at him and he waved back. Danielle spotted Ivy's…( "Ivy's" and "boyfriend" still sounded weird together) whatever. She walked over and held out a hand. He shook it uncertainly.

"Hi! I'm Danielle, Ivy's friend. You are?"

"Faolan." he supplied.

"Faolan. Listen, from what I heard, you want to go back with us. As long as you're going, there's this party that a lot of kids from school are having that I've been trying to talk her into going to. She's never gone to a big party like this one and it's kind of important. It's our graduation party. If you were to ask her…" Danielle trailed off suggestively.

Faolan seemed to like the idea. He nodded vigorously.

"Thanks." he said.

"No prob. Is that Lord Rupert? Must be. Well, I'll see ya."

Danielle said and went over to Lord Rupert. He directed her to a room and she nodded and left. Lord Rupert hurried over to Faolan.

"Shouldn't you be getting off to bed, young man?" he asked.

"Yeah." Faolan agreed, "Could you tell me where Ivy's…"

"Of course not!" Lord Rupert interrupted, "Do you think I'm a fool? I was your age once. I know what goes on in the mind of a young man your age."

Lord Rupert smacked Faolan smartly outside the head.

"Ow!" Faolan cried.

"Bad thoughts! You will sleep in your own room and if I catch you sneaking into hers…" Lord Rupert wagged a finger at him.

"Okay, okay! Huff-puff!" Faolan agreed hurriedly, rubbing the back of his head and glaring in an annoyed fashion at Lord Rupert.

"Up the stairs, second door on the left. Can't miss it." Lord Rupert directed.

Faolan beat a hasty retreat and headed to his room. Lord Rupert looked after him and sighed.

"Young love." he said and wiped a tear from his eye, "It's just so beautiful."

Ivy woke with the sun the next day. She rearranged the things in her backpack, taking out Faolan's forgotten coat. She had nothing to pack. All she had to do was leave. That was the hardest thing of all, though. She didn't want to go. She really would have liked to stay and see the Kingdoms without having to worry about evil witches. But she had already been gone too long. Her parents were probably going out of their minds.

She turned, hefting her backpack and slinging it over one shoulder. She picked up Faolan's coat and opened the door.

When she opened it, she found Faolan sitting outside.

"Faolan! What are you doing…?" she began.

"I was waiting for you to wake up. I thought you would want to get an early start." he said, jumping to his feet.

"Not much of a chance of that happening with Danielle traveling with us. And I still need to go speak with Virginia, Snow White said so. How long have you been out here?" Ivy asked.

Faolan shrugged.

"A while. Come on. I smell breakfast being cooked. I'll bet Wolf and Virginia will be down soon." Faolan said, taking her hand and pulling her down the stairs.

"Faolan…" Ivy protested, "Would you wait a minute?!"

"What?" Faolan asked, stopping and turning towards her.

"We need to talk. I've been thinking about what to do next, but I'm not sure."

"Let's talk over breakfast. I'm starving!" Faolan insisted.

"Oh, alright." Ivy nodded and he proceeded leading her downstairs again.

Ivy let herself be dragged into the dining hall. Faolan pulled out a chair for her and she was so surprised, she plopped into it. No one pulled out chairs for her. Faolan ran around the other side of the table and sat across from her. No one else was there yet except for kitchen workers.

"I've got your…" Ivy began, holding up his coat.

"Oh! Thank you." Faolan said quickly, taking it and slipping it on so he wouldn't have to carry it.

Faolan took Ivy's hands, leaning across the table so he was closer to her. Ivy looked from their hands to Faolan and frowned worriedly.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, no! Nothing's wrong! I just…I need to ask you something. Huff, I'm kind of nervous." he admitted.

"W…what?" Ivy asked, her eyes wide.

"Well, it's actually two somethings. First, your friend, Danielle, told me about an important party in the 10th Kingdom called the graduation party and I want to take you to it. Can I?"

"I…but I…I can't even dance! I wasn't going to go." she looked at Faolan who had dropped his head so that it rested on their hands and was looking up at her with his golden-brown eyes. Ivy sighed, "Okay. I'll go. I suppose that means I'll have to find a dress, too. Danielle's going to have way too much fun with this. What was the other thing?"

"Will you…," Faolan paused and took a deep breath, "Will you be my mate?"

"Your…oh, god." Ivy said and nearly fell out of her chair, "Faolan, you can't ask me something like that! Just please slow down."

Faolan clamped down on a whimper and nodded.

"Okay. I'm sorry. It's just that wolves always move fast." he said, looking down at the table.

Ivy saw how down he looked and felt bad. She wasn't really saying no, just asking him to wait.

"Faolan?" she said to get his attention.

Faolan looked up questioningly. Ivy leaned closer and kissed him. She was as new at this as he was, but somehow it seemed right. Faolan's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then he closed them and kissed her back.

"Yep, I sent out two messengers already. One to my sister and another to Queen Riding Hood." Wolf said in an exceptionally loud voice.

Ivy pulled back and sat back down in her chair. Faolan had a dreamy smile on his face. Ivy felt a similar one appear on her own. She looked over at Wolf in time to see him wink at Faolan. Wolf saw her looking at him and quickly turned to Virginia.

"You must be ravenous. I know I am. Breakfast smells great." he said, leading her over to the table and sitting her down next to Ivy.

He slipped around the table and took a seat next to Faolan.

Virginia raised an eyebrow.

"Wolves on one side, um…associates on the other? Or guys on one side, girls on the other?" she asked, "Lord Rupert would be proud."

"Coincidence." Wolf offered with his wolfish grin.

"Virginia, I need to talk to you before I leave. After breakfast?" Ivy asked.

"Sure." Virginia nodded.

A servant brought out some breakfast trays just then, one piled high with bacon and sausage, the other with pancake-like things. Faolan and Wolf looked at each other, then at the bacon. Virginia knew exactly what they were thinking.

"Don't you dare eat it all, either of you. I'm not only eating for two, one of us has part of Wolf in him. I could eat a horse." Virginia warned.

"Yes, dear scrumptious Virginia." Wolf smiled.


	19. Chapter 19

-1It wasn't too long before Randal, Tony, Cinnamon, Maive, and Breena joined them. The cooks were hard pressed to keep enough food on the table for four wolves, a pregnant woman, and three hungry humans. Breena didn't eat anything, but she participated in the conversation. Wendell came down a little later. Danielle was the last to show. She ran into the room and quickly slipped into a seat next to Ivy.

"I know we have to go, but there's something that we just have to do first. I saw it in my dream last night and I've been dying for some anyway." Danielle said quietly to her.

"Who's dying?" Faolan cried, worried.

"No one! Gosh, decaf, wolfie boy." Danielle said quickly.

Faolan sat back down, embarrassed. He didn't know what decaf was, but he got the gist.

"What are you talking about?" Ivy asked.

Danielle lowered her voice even further to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Karaoke."

Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Even if I tell you not to, you will so what the heck." she said.

"Great! This is so cool. I get to introduce karaoke to the 9 Kingdoms!" Danielle said, rubbing her hands together with anticipation, "Yeah, I've been thinking what CD's that I know you have. I'm making a list of good songs for this."

"Look out 9 Kingdoms, " Ivy joked, "It's a good thing we have to go back today."

"Not 'till later, we're not. Where's Lord Rupert? I was talking to him last night and I think he can help. I'll need your CD player thing, too. I'll be back." Danielle said and ran off again.

Faolan looked at Ivy and she could see he was looking for an explanation. She shook her head.

"That's Danielle for you." was all she could give him.

Virginia let Ivy into the room she shared with Wolf, figuring that the girl would want some privacy. She waved a hand at a chair against the wall, motioning for her to sit in it, and pulled over another chair for herself. When they were both settled in, she looked to Ivy to begin.

"It was Snow White's idea that I should talk to you. She said that I was lost like you were. I think she was right. My whole life I…well, I stayed in kind of a bubble and no one else could get through it. That's until Faolan (man, this is a bad analogy) popped it. I was all cold inside and I didn't even know it until recently. Life sucked. I'm a writer, so I had an escape. I'd write stories and make myself one of the characters so it was like I was somewhere else, living an exciting life, falling in love, being a hero. But I'd always have to come back, knowing that it wasn't real. During this adventure is the first time I've been able to cry in years. It hurt inside." Ivy bit her lip and couldn't believe she had just blurted all that to Virginia.

To her surprise, Virginia leaned over and hugged her.

"You sound like me." she said.

"I am like you, I guess. That's why it seemed to me like we were repeating your story. The fact is, I just had to learn the same things you did almost." Ivy said.

"My story?" Virginia asked.

"You know. The 'Four Who Saved the 9 Kingdoms'."

"Oh! Where'd you hear that?" Virginia wondered.

"In Kissingtown."

"Really? They can't possibly know the whole story."

"The whole story? There's more?" Ivy asked curiously.

Virginia nodded.

"The story starts back in New York in the old apartment I shared with my dad…"

Randal was bored. His brother had almost seemed to have forgotten him. He knew that wasn't true and all in all he liked being away from Faolan for a while. But still, that left him no one to bug. No, talk to. He meant talk to. Randal wandered into a different room and came across Ivy's friend. She hadn't noticed him, she was too busy writing on a piece of paper. Randal edged up next to her.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked.

This girl jumped in surprised and gave a short yell. Her papers fell all over.

"You scared me. Not a tough thing to do in this situation, but…" she cut off as she noticed Randal sniffing, "You're a half-wolf, aren't you?"

Randal ignored her question. He seemed startled.

"That's what it is! You like King Wendell!" he exclaimed.

"Shhh!" Danielle hissed, pulling Randal over to her, "Not so loud! What…what makes you say that?"

"I can smell it! Plus, I smelled something funny from your direction whenever King Wendell was around. I just never knew what it was. I just knew it reminded me of Faolan and Ivy." Randal explained.

"Okay. Let's say you're right and I have a little bit of a crush on him. Could I, hypothetically, rely on a young half-wolf, let's just say…you, to keep quiet about it?" Danielle asked.

"What's hypo…whatever mean?" Randal asked, making a face.

"Just answer the question."

"Yes." Randal said, fidgeting.

"Good. Now help me pick up these papers, would you? You must be Faolan's little brother, Randal. Ivy told me about you. I'm Danielle." she said as she gathered papers.

Randal handed her the rest of them. Danielle picked up her quill and sat back in her chair. She started writing again. She hummed a little under her breath. Randal peaked over her shoulder.

"Who's John Mayer?" he asked.

Danielle clamped a hand over the paper.

"Excuse you."

"Why? Did I burp?" Randal asked, confused.

"No, but it's not polite…oh, forget it. He's a singer from the 10th Kingdom. Speaking of John…" Danielle said and jotted down another song.

"What's karoke?" Randal asked, mispronouncing it.

Danielle had a flash-back to her babysitting days and sighed.

"You'll see. Hopefully I can talk your brother and Wolf into doing a number or two. Maybe even Wendell. And I have to get Virginia to do a couple with me and Ivy. Maybe I can find one for Maive and Cinnamon. I've got a lot to do, kid. If you're going to stick around, will you help me?" Danielle asked.

"Sure." Randal nodded.

Faolan whined again. He resumed his pacing across the floor. Wolf looked up at the sound of his movement.

"She's okay, you know. She's just talking to Virginia." Wolf said.

"Yes, but…she's been in there a long time and I feel that it's important stuff that they're talking about. You know, things that might be hard for her. I want to be there."

Faolan growled with frustration.

"You have to let her do her own thing. Even if she is your mate, she's still her own wol…I mean, person." Wolf advised.

Faolan didn't stop pacing.

"I asked her, you know." he said finally.

"What?"

"I asked her if she would be my mate. I wanted to hear her say it. She said not yet. She said to slow down." Faolan growled.

"But she didn't say no."

Faolan sighed.

"But she didn't say yes." he stopped pacing, "I suppose she's right. I want to go with her. I need to go with her. But what about Randal? I can't leave him."

"I think Randal can take care of himself. Ask him what he wants to do. I think you should go with her. But if you do, be careful in the 10th Kingdom. It's not like here. I don't even understand lots of it." Wolf said.

"Maybe you're right. Huff-puff, even if you are I still need her to come out and talk to me." Faolan heard a noise and spun around, "King Wendell!"

Wendell nodded to Faolan and Wolf as he walked over.

"There a problem, Wendy?" Wolf asked.

"Nothing catastrophic. Just something personal." Wendell said, sitting down, "How's my favorite step-sister?"

"She's fine. What's your problem?"

"Oh…it's just….Danielle." Wendell admitted.

"Ivy's friend? What about her?" Faolan asked.

Wendell wrung his hands and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I…well, I…I think that…"

"You like her." Wolf grinned, "I knew that. Ever since Breena brought us back and we found you two together."

"How?" Wendell demanded.

Wolf looked from Wendell to Faolan.

"A wolf knows." he said simply, "So what's the problem?"

"So. What am I supposed to do? It's not like I can pursue it. One, I'm a king here and she lives somewhere in the 10th Kingdom. Two, the Council of the 9 Kingdoms was already discussing prearranging my marriage to some princess. Kings aren't allowed to marry commoners. Not that she's common! Or that I intend to marry her!" Wendell sighed, "Am I completely hopeless or what?"

Wolf held up a hand to stop their conversation. He stood up and turned towards the side entrance just as Virginia and Ivy walked in. Faolan jumped when he saw her and bounded over. He stopped a pace from her and looked at her.

"Hi." he said.

"Hi." Ivy replied, her mouth quirking at his sudden shyness, "What have you three been talking about?"

"Nothing." all three said hurriedly at the same time.

Virginia and Ivy exchanged a look. Neither of them bought that. But neither of them would push it.

"Faolan, I have an idea about where you can stay. Is Randal coming with us?" Ivy asked.

"I don't know yet. Come on, let's go outside." Faolan said, taking her hand and leading her away.

Ivy shrugged and waved goodbye to Virginia, Wolf, and Wendell.

"What about you two? Are you going back to the 10th Kingdom?" Wendell asked.

"Not until I have this baby. 10th Kingdom doctors wouldn't respond well to a baby with a tail." Virginia said and smiled.

"I don't see why." Wolf said, "A tail is p…"

"Perfectly natural." Virginia finished for him.

"Well, it is." he insisted.

"Listen, Ivy…" Faolan began, sitting her down on one of the ebony benches in Wendell's garden.

"No, Faolan. You listen. I know what you're going to say. That I can tell you anything. That even if I'm not ready to be your mate, that you're mine. The truth is, I'm confused. The journey makes sense to me, but not the end. Danielle's happy as can be, everyone else acts like this is normal routine. Maybe it is around here. But…I helped kill the last of a species. How can I live with that?"

Faolan frowned. Why would she dwell on something like this? She had seemed so happy before. He had even begun to hope that all their problems were over, that from now on it would be…well, a fairytale.

"He was evil. He would have killed us all. So would that witch. It's over. The others are just trying to get on with their lives. If you dwell on it, it'll destroy you." Faolan said.

Ivy buried her face in her hands for a moment. Maybe he was right.

"Still." she said, looking up.

Faolan sat down next to her and put an arm around her. She leaned against him, surprised to find comfort in his strength.

"Don't be sad, please." he said, "I don't like it when you're sad."

Ivy whimpered and laid her head against his chest. Faolan nuzzled her and put his head against hers.

"You're right, I guess." she said without moving.

Faolan didn't reply.

"Okay. Alright. It's ready. It is ready? Right? Right?!" Danielle demanded.

Lord Rupert nodded.

"Yes, yes. It's ready. I'm still not too sure about your choice of table arrangements, but…" he waved a hand to dismiss it.

"Good. This is the 9 Kingdoms first ever karaoke and I want it to be perfect. Randal, can you go get the others?"

Randal nodded and ran off. Danielle heaved a sigh and plopped down in a chair. She gulped down some water and waited for the others to show up. Lord Rupert stood off to the side, also waiting. Who would have though that arranging the first ever karaoke in a fairytale land would be so much work?

"Are you guys always going to act mushy or what?" Randal asked and stuck out his tongue.

"What is it, Randal?" Faolan asked, only moving so that he could stroke Ivy's hair.

"Danielle wants you to go into the conference hall." Randal reported.

He ran off again before either of them could reply, following his nose to the others.

He found Cinnamon next. She, too, was in the garden, pacing and staring off in the distance. Randal stopped and waited for her to see him. His wolf instincts told him it wasn't a good idea to approach an agitated she-wolf without her permission.

"What do you want, cub?" she asked without looking at him.

"I'm supposed to tell everyone to go to the conference hall." Randal said.

"Better move along then." she said coldly.

Randal backed away slowly, then continued on his way. Whatever was bothering her, he didn't want her to take it out on him.

Randal went back into the castle and almost bumped into Wolf and Virginia.

"Ewww, more mushy stuff." Randal complained.

Virginia pulled away from Wolf and smiled at Randal.

"Sorry." she said lightly.

"Are you really going to have a cub?" Randal asked in wonder.

"Yeah." Virginia nodded, placing a hand on her stomach.

"Where did it come from?"

"Uh…." Virginia looked to Wolf, worriedly.

"You'll find out later. Just watch nature." Wolf instructed.

Randal cocked his head, confused. He finally shrugged.

"Danielle wants everyone in the conference hall." he delivered his message.

"Okay. Thanks, Randal." Wolf nodded.

Randal ran off again to find the remaining members of their party. Virginia slapped Wolf on the arm.

"I can't believe you told him that." she said.

"What? He's a wolf." Wolf said, rubbing his arm as if it had hurt, "What would you have told him?"

"Well…when two people love each other very much…" Virginia trailed off with a grin.

The line was lost on Wolf.

Danielle jumped to her feet as Ivy and Faolan came in. She grinned as Ivy stopped in her tracks and looked around.

"I'm not sure if you're a genius or an incredible ham." she said.

"Both." Danielle said with a bow.

"You're a ham?" Faolan asked in confusion.

"An expression, Faolan." Ivy explained.

Faolan only looked slightly less confused.

"Grab a seat, Faolan. Ivy come with me." Danielle said quickly.

Ivy shrugged and followed Danielle over to the make-shift stage. Ivy touched it and grinned.

"I'm not even going to ask how you whipped this up." she said, shaking her head.

"Good. Here. This is the list." Danielle said, shoving a piece of paper in Ivy's hand.

"Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me? Why are there I's and V's and D's and W's….." Ivy's eyes widened as she figured it out, "You want Faolan to sing 'Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me'!"

"You don't approve of the list?" Danielle frowned.

"No, I don't approve of the list!" Ivy almost yelled.

"You mean that you're not the least bit intrigued by the notion of Faolan singing you a love song?"

Ivy paused.

"I'm not going to answer that. But I am trimming this list. Besides, we have to get going. It's a long way from New York back to Arizona. My truck's probably impounded by now." Ivy said.

"Fine." Danielle allowed.

"This is more nuts than anything else I've seen in this crazy place. I guess we'll fit right in." Ivy muttered.

"Okay, guys. This is the first ever 9 Kingdoms karaoke, orchestrated by me. Ivy and I'll start this thing off so you get the idea. I'll go first. This song goes out to a certain someone who will remain unnamed. Formalities out of the way, hit it!" Danielle said before launching into a song about having a crush.

Danielle shot a glance at Wendell before fixing her eyes firmly elsewhere. She probably hadn't fooled anyone about who she was singing to. She should never have done this. Too late now. Almost through the song. Just a short bridge and a repeat of the chorus. That's all. Then she could get off the stage before she started blushing so bright everyone would see.

Danielle froze. It was over. What was she supposed to do now? Look at Wendell. No! Don't look at Wendell! Just bow and get off the stage. Go work the controls. That was it.

"Okay. Yeah. Now, you guys are supposed to clap. Thanks." Danielle said, then beat a hasty retreat off the stage.

Danielle grabbed Ivy's arm and shoved her on stage. She checked the CD and saw that Ivy had already switched it. Good girl.

"Uh….hi." Ivy said lamely, "I think you guys get the idea, right? Okay. Um…go, Danielle."

Ivy began shakily singing another tremendously sappy song about love that Danielle had picked out, she suspected, to make her die of embarrassment. Ivy had never been one for the spot light, really. That was more Danielle's thing. But she would also never back down from a challenge, which Danielle had made this now. Unfortunately, she caught sight of Faolan. The half-wolf was practically falling out of his chair. Danielle rolled her eyes.

Faolan jumped out of his seat as she finished the song and Danielle had a feeling he would have run over and kissed Ivy, except that she had placed herself between them.

"None of that. This is a family show." Danielle said and winked at Randal, "Okay. Virginia, your turn."

"What?" Virginia cried, "No way!"

"Aw, come on. We've got a song all picked out for you. I even wrote down all the words." Danielle coaxed.

Virginia sighed.

"Oh, fine." she gave in.

She got to her feet and walked over to where Ivy and Danielle stood near the stage. Danielle handed her a piece of paper. Virginia skimmed it as Danielle pushed her on stage. Ivy hit the play button at a nod from Danielle. Virginia's voice grew steadily stronger as she sang what was apparently a somewhat familiar song and the next time she sang the chorus, the singing ring joined in. Virginia's eyes widened in surprise, but she kept singing, Once she finished the song, everyone clapped, but they were drowned out completely by Wolf.

"That was great, honey!" he called.

Virginia smiled shyly and returned to her seat. Wolf squeezed her shoulders and kissed her cheek.

"Did you hear that, baby cub? Your mama's voice is almost as beautiful as she is." Wolf said, placing a hand on Virginia's stomach.

"Uh…Wolf, could you tear yourself away from Virginia for a few minutes? You, too, Faolan." Danielle said.

Wolf and Faolan hesitantly got up and headed over to Ivy and Danielle, looking very confused. Danielle glanced past them at Wendell who was sitting at a table with Tony. He had golden curls that some girls she knew would kill for. He was wearing a tailored blue suit that looked as completely natural on him as blue jeans and a T-shirt. He said something to Tony and looked in her direction. Danielle quickly turned back to Wolf and Faolan and handed each of them a piece of paper.

"Isn't she wonderful?" Wendell sighed.

"What?"

"I mean, isn't this wonderful?" Wendell corrected hurriedly.

Tony nodded at Danielle.

"You like her, huh?" he asked.

"No! Of course not!" Wendell cried immediately, then added quietly, "Yes."

Tony smiled. Wendell was like a son to him, but he was also his best friend. It was a peculiar feeling hearing about Wendell's first crush, as far as he knew.

"Well? What are you going to do about it?" Tony pressed.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's not like there's anything I can do. The Council of the 9 Kingdoms will arrange my marriage to someone else and she'll go back to the 10th Kingdom. Besides, I don't even know if she likes me, Anthony." Wendell finished.

Tony shook his head. Love was blind, he guessed.

"She just sang that song about having a crush to you." Tony pointed out.

Wendell's head shot up and he looked at Tony like he was insane.

"Oh, come on. You can't figure it out? Think about it, you're the only one she could be singing to. She certainly doesn't have a crush on me." Tony continued.

Wendell shook his head, but his eyes were wide. He stopped and rubbed his temple as if he had a headache.

"So what do I do? They're leaving soon." Wendell asked.

"Now that is up to you, Princey boy." Tony said and patted Wendell on the head.

"Anthony." Wendell said in a warning tone.

"Oh!" Tony realized, "Sorry. Forgot. You were such a nice dog."

Wendell glared at him.

"I'm just teasing! Geesh."

Faolan and Wolf looked utterly confused. Danielle sighed in exasperation.

"Look, why don't you two listen to the song first, then try it?" Danielle suggested.

"Why would we sing a girl's song?" Faolan asked.

"Because I said to! Just listen to the words. Now put on these headphones. No, no, like this." Danielle said, adjusting the headphones on Wolf.

Wolf jumped in surprise when the music came on. Danielle turned to see Ivy edge over.

"What are you doing? This wasn't on the list! Not my version, anyway." Ivy whispered angrily.

"Cool it. Just sit down." Danielle replied firmly.

Ivy glared at her, but plunked down in her seat at a table.

Danielle turned back to Wolf and Faolan and switched the headphones to the latter. He was even worse than Wolf when she pressed play. He pulled the headphones away from his ears as if it were too loud so she turned it down. Gosh, he listened to it softer than Ivy did!

Wolf scratched his temple again and looked at Danielle.

"Um…Danielle? There's a small, tiny problem." he said as if he were embarrassed.

"What?" Danielle sighed.

"I don't…oh, huff-puff, I can't sing like that!" Wolf protested.

Danielle felt like banging her head against a wall.

"Of course you can't. That's Faith Hill. She's a woman, you're not. 'Kay?" Danielle asked, forcing a smile.

"But…" Wolf began.

"No. You know what? I don't care." Wolf tried to talk again, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand, "Uh uh. No. Not one word."

Faolan pulled off the headphones and he looked as doubtful as Wolf.

"You either. Don't argue, just do it. Now. Go!" Danielle urged, pushing them onto the stage.

Danielle calmed her annoyance enough not to break the CD player when she pressed play. She could hear Wolf and Faolan arguing over who would have to sing the lead. Apparently, Wolf won 'cause Faolan started out singing Faith Hill's part.

"If I could win your heart,

You'd let me in your heart,

I'd be so happy, baby.

Just for these arms to be

Holding you close to me.

There's nothing in this world I won't try.

No limit to what I'd do to make you mind 'cause…" now Wolf joined him for the chorus. At least these wolves picked this stuff up quick,

"I'd climb right up to the sky,

I'd take down the stars

Just to be in your arms, baby.

I'd go and capture the moon.

That's what I would do

Just to hear you say that you love me.

Just to hear you say that you love me."

Not bad, Danielle thought to herself, I do good work. Now Faolan picked up the song again and Wolf sang the back-up almost word for word. Good. Now just finish off the song, Danielle thought, Good wolfies. Now bow and get off my stage. That sounded bad. Oh, well. A good finish to my karaoke, I suppose. Four songs, though. Pitiful. Stupid Ivy.

"Good job, guys. I told you that you could do it." Danielle said, directing them off the stage and taking their place, "Okay. That's basically it. It's a lot of fun, really. We could go on, but some of us need to get back to the 10th Kingdom. I'd just like to say thanks to everyone. Breena, Wolf, I'd still be lost if not for you two. Wendell, you saved my life. I can't thank you enough. I promise I'll come back as soon as I can. That is, if I can?"

"We opened the mirror for Wolf and Virginia once every week at sunset on Sunday." Wendell said, "We can open it for you."

"Alright. Thanks, Wendell." Danielle nodded, gratefully.

That was weird. Ivy hadn't said thank you. Danielle looked over at her and saw that she was being all cuddly with Faolan. Ewww, she gets her first boyfriend and already she was all…in the words of Randal, yucky. And she would have to put up with it all the way home, too.

"Ahem! Ivy, wouldn't you like to say thank you?" Danielle asked pointedly.

"Thank you! Everyone." Ivy said, trying to pull away from Faolan, but he wouldn't let her, "Faolan, we really need to get going."

"Have we got everything? Are we ready to go?" Danielle asked.

"Um…I think so." Ivy said, looking to Faolan for confirmation.

Faolan rose and went over to Randal.

"What do you want to do, Randal?" he asked.

Randal fidgeted and looked around.

"I think…I'd like to stay here. Is that okay?" he asked worriedly.

"That's perfectly fine. I'll be back soon, don't worry. Huff-puff, I'm going to miss you." Faolan said.

"I'll miss you, too." Randal said and hugged him.

"We'll keep an eye on him, Faolan. Don't worry." Virginia added.

Faolan looked at her in surprise.

"Thank you." he said sincerely.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Wendell rose and coughed to get their attention.

"If you're ready, I can lead you to the mirror room." he offered.

"Sure." Danielle agreed, hopping off the stage.

Ivy had never liked good-byes, especially long ones. So they got them all over with before following Wendell. Wendell was the last one they had to bid farewell to before going home.

"Bye, Wendell. You don't know how happy we are that you found us in Central Park." Ivy said, shaking Wendell's hand.

"Incredibly happy." Faolan added, shaking his hand after her.

Faolan disappeared first through the mirror. Ivy waited for Danielle.

"Coming, Danie?" she asked.

Danielle looked at Wendell, then at the mirror.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming." she said, stumbling backwards toward the mirror, then turning and stepping through.

Ivy thought she heard Wendell sigh as she followed.

"Wow." Faolan said, gazing around at the city as they walked toward the Grill on the Park, the last known whereabouts of Ivy's truck, "What's that? And that? And…oh, what's that smell?"

Ivy smiled.

"I'll explain later. It's a long drive. First, we have to find my truck." she said.

They were in luck. Ivy's truck was still there, but with a few added tickets on it.

"Alright. I'll drive first. Danielle, you'll have to switch off with me. I still need to write that report on wolves that was due last Wednesday. Whoever's not driving, try and think of an excuse that our parents will buy." Ivy instructed, "Let's take care of these tickets. I don't need parking tickets on top of everything else."

"You know, " Danielle said later as they were driving home, "I'm thinking we definitely have to patent this adventure."

"A novel maybe?" Ivy suggested, "Of course, we couldn't put our names on it. We want to be inconspicuous so we can get back to the mirror and everything. And it'd have to be labeled fiction."

"No, I'm thinking more of a television production. A miniseries!" Danielle said, her mind buzzing with possibilities.

"You'd better start with Wolf and Virginia's story first, the 'Four Who Saved the 9 Kingdoms'. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense. We could be silent benefactors and help in the casting and everything, get actors who most look like everyone and all." Ivy said, getting into it.

"What's a miniseries?" Faolan asked.

"It's another 10th Kingdom thing. You'll see." Danielle promised.

Virginia sighed and leaned back against Wolf. So there really were lost girls out there just like she had been. She hoped the 9 Kingdoms had changed their lives like it had hers.

With that thought, Virginia rubbed her stomach. Soon, she would be a mother. Wolf was right, they would have a wonderful baby. And he would be a wonderful father.

"Wolf?" she asked.

"Yes?" he murmured, putting his head on her shoulder.

"Do you think we'll live 'Happy Ever After'?"

Wolf paused and thought that over. He slowly smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"You know what, my succulent dreamy girl? I think we already are."

End


End file.
